Taken by the Wind
by Justbychance
Summary: For two broken souls feeling lost to this world, outsiders to the carefree normalcy most take for granted, it will be the beginning of something unforeseen, unimaginable, the dawn of a rare and wondrous love that some might even call, magical. Canon in respect to the characters backgrounds, there is no bus crash, Kyle remains alive. Z/K, warning,explicit sexual content.
1. Taken by the wind

_**Taken by the Wind**_

The night is warm, the sky, full of stars that blanket the heavens like fireworks suspended in a sea of black on display for those who dare to notice its beauty.

There is a strangeness in the air, it's exhilarating, inviting, delivering promises of infinite possibilities, of hope for the hopeless.

From the ninth ward, to the French Quarter, across gator filled swamps of the bayou, those sensitive to what cannot be seen, turn their sights upward, close their eyes and sigh.

There is a white witch with pure intentions conjuring wishes for the broken two so that they would become whole again.

Taken by the wind so that young hearts might find their way, she releases her potion, jasmine, rose petals and vanilla, her magic is all around them now, it charges the air sweeping along pale skin and honey hair.

Lightning is about to strike.

For two broken souls feeling lost to this world, outsiders to the carefree normalcy most take for granted, it will be the beginning of something unforeseen, unimaginable, the dawn of a rare and wondrous love that some might even call, magical.

Lounging on a white veranda sipping a cool tall glass of mint julep she smiles knowingly, a spell has been cast, one of the heart, of opportunity, some might say divine intervention.

Soon the stars themselves will blush with envy in the wake of what is to come.

 **zKz**

Stumbling behind the B list actor in heels ridiculously high, and a dress that feels as if she wearing next to nothing, Zoe, on her first day at her new boarding school is having seconds thoughts as they near the frat house.

"W-wait, Madison I changed my mind, this just isn't me, I'm going to head back - "

Yanking her roughly her by the arm, the self absorbed, child actress/recovering drug addict rolls her eyes.

"Too late black widow, we're here, just stand in the corner and try not to look as pathetic as you feel."

Inside kind dark eyes, burdened by horrors no one should be forced to endure, scan the overflowing house of reckless youth.

He's swept up in the chaos of the party, it's a welcomed distraction, but not anything he's able to really feel a part of.

Red punch swirls in his cup instead of beer, which he'd give anything for right now.

He's dying to feel numb, at least for a while, but he has no choice, it's who he is, responsible, sweet, always thinking of others, a truly good person.

As self appointed watchdog over his brothers, worried for the future of his charter that was once again put on probation, fraternity president Kyle Spencer declines the usual vices that are needed to get him through the night.

Alcohol, weed, whatever it takes, whatever is available to help block out the dark secret he's been keeping for as long as he can remember.

 **(Earlier that evening)**

 _ **Hands that were meant to nurture and protect held a more sinister meaning as they smoothed around his waist stopping him from walking out the door.**_

 _ **His voice wavered, trying to hide his urgency to get away, knowing it would just make it worse.**_

" _ **Mom, I have to go, I'm sorry, the guys are waiting. I checked the pilot light on the stove, it's working fine. Your dinner is on the table, take out from Billy's Barbecue, your favorite."**_

 _ **Drunk, slurring words behind his ear, she laid her mussed hair alongside his tense muscles pulling him back.**_

 _ **"You're such a good boy, my boy, why don't you stay, we'll make a night out of it, just like we used to."**_

 ** _She takes his silence as her answer, it's not what she wants to hear._**

" _ **You promised, you swore to me that college wouldn't take you away from me, that things wouldn't change, but here you are running out the door again to be with those boys - "**_

 _ **Lowering his head his gut twisted in knots, his hand squeezed the doorknob before reluctantly turning around to hug her knowing it was his only way out.**_

 _ **In the midst of the guilt heavy in her voice, he was calm, beaten down by years of abuse and manipulation.**_

" _ **Mom, remember I told you, belonging to a fraternity looks good on a resume. The counselor said it attracts potential employers. Thousands of kids are going to graduate when I do, I have to do everything I can to stand out from everyone else, volunteering, keeping my grades up, all the community and campus events I'm involved in are a part of that."**_

 _ **Feeling her grip getting tighter, his feet shuffled backward tripping over the coffee table, scrapping wooden legs against the floor.**_

" _ **But you'll be back tonight, right baby? You promised Kyle… you promised I wouldn't spend another weekend all alone."**_

 _ **Letting go of her slowly, hearing Dillon beeping his horn several times, he nodded while backing away.**_

 _ **"I'll try, I'm sorry mom, I really gotta go."**_

 _ **Grabbing his sleeve on his way out, she stopped him, waiting for the words she demanded to hear always before he left.**_

" _ **Kyle, wait, did you forget?"**_

 _ **Closing his eyes, he swallowed hard, before running down the front steps.**_

" _ **No, ma' course not, I love you."**_

His buddies laughing hard pulls him back to the present as he manages to catch the end of a vulgar joke, he smiles, forcing himself to join in seamlessly as if nothing was wrong.

It's a technique he's perfected over the years out of necessity, survival skills for a world that had abandoned him to a monster.

Techno music blares over his friend who's saying something indistinguishable while pointing towards the front door.

Looking up through the crowd expecting to see another sorority girl from his school, he's blindsided by the sight of someone far different, a vision so stunning it stills his gentle heart.

Frozen, his lips part trying to remember how to breathe as he stares in wonder at the most beautiful girl he's ever seen.

She's standing in the shadow of another, but there is no hiding, not now, not from him.

The washed up movie star she came with, who's begging for attention quickly abandons her, he feels for her but can't help but be thankful for the opportunity that's presented itself.

Captivated by her, he studies her every move, unable to tear himself away.

Glancing back at the door she's deliberating her escape, a sharp intake of air holds tight in his throat as he calls out to her silently.

' _ **No, please… don't go.'**_

Letting out a shaky breath relief washes over him, she's decided to stay.

His heart clenches with empathy watching as she awkwardly crosses one arm over her slender body while drunken teens push by her.

Uncomfortable in the tight black dress that is clearly not of her choosing, he follows her as she makes her way to a huge ice sculpture feeling inexplicably drawn to her.

Everything falls away, thumping loud music fades, the crowd surrounding them vanish into nothing, there is no one else but her.

She lifts curious hazel eyes through transparent frost manipulating her into a vision of something not of this earth, dreamlike, angelic.

Powerless against her, he can't help but feel there's a promise of heaven in those eyes.

He's lost all sense of space and time, it's irrelevant, the world, and everything in it is meaningless in comparison.

He stares unflinchingly as if in a trance, he's falling fast with each second that passes to the girl mirroring him in ways he has yet to discover.

Finally connected with her, their eyes meet for the first time, wild beating hearts collide, the feeling is tangible, an indescribable force that delivers on its promise.

Wanting to know her, everything about her, he breaks the tension releasing a smile that strikes her hard, waking places inside that she knows will eventually wither and die.

It's a bitter reminder that stings like fire on her skin, but still she finds it impossible to tear herself away.

He's beyond handsome, a hazy reflection of black soulful eyes, and white alabaster skin, a contradiction that's strikingly beautiful in every way.

His gaze is warm, vulnerable, leaving him defenseless before her, he is completely at her mercy and he doesn't care that she knows it.

Flushed, wide eyed, her lips part, her heart pounds in rhythm with his, but reality is biting at her ankles, tugging on her arm, whispering harshly in her ear.

 _ **'Death is the only gift you have to offer.'**_

A sadness envelops her as she walks away, it's strangely familiar, something he recognizes in himself, it drives him even further to know her.

Alone she leans against the security of the wall behind her, feeling out of place, still reeling from the nightmare that sent her across the country.

Startled by the sound of his sultry low baritone voice, she's taken off guard, unable to hide her happiness to see him again, it doesn't go unnoticed.

He's rewarded with a bright welcoming smile, one that he would never forget.

Offering her punch, Zoe accepts, but somehow manages to regain her senses, she can't do this and she knows it.

She tries to insult him, to push him away, but he quickly rebounds, revealing himself as nothing that the Greek letters on his shirt imply.

They banter back and forth, his charm is inescapable pulling her in further leading her to a place she keeps reminding herself she cannot go.

Introductions are made, their conversation is effortless, she's calm with him, he makes her feel safe , its beyond cruel, a twist of fate that can never be fulfilled.

"You're not from around here are you?"

Biting her lip she sighs wondering if she should lie, if it even matters.

"No actually, is it that obvious?"

Strands of honey silk glide over raspberry lips, he feels helpless, in awe, truly mystified.

"Yeah, but you should take it as a compliment, you're different, special, in the very best way. Are you a transfer student?"

Chills rush over him making him shiver, his gaze lowers to his sneakers realizing this is all too good to be true, he knows all too well there are no such thing as fairy tales, that he is far from a prince.

Unbeknownst to him that is exactly what he is, possibly his love, the only cure to her curse.

Embarrassed she rattles off the name of the school she's been forced into against her will.

He knows of it, everyone native to New Orleans has, rumors of the supernatural run wild in The Big Easy, but he believes it to be tall tales made for tourists, and nothing more.

"I know, a finishing school... it wasn't by choice."

She's tense suddenly, he can sense it, there's something much darker going on behind the whiskey glint of her eyes.

He closes the space between them grazing his fingers along her arm in an effort to comfort her and in the process is nearly brought to his knees.

This innocent touch shakes their breath, he's done, hers, with whatever that may entail.

Zoe feels a rush of pleasure so intense it flushes her skin, he feels it on his fingertips hot and soft vibrating with need.

It's too much and not nearly enough all at once, slick between her thighs with poison meant to kill, she stammers softly, on the verge of tears feeling the loneliness that is now her life creeping up behind her.

"Look Kyle, I-I like you, but ... this... _us_... it can't happen. I'm sorry."

Nodding slowly, raw with rejection, he replies the obvious, in the kindest way, thinking how stupid he was to not know.

"You have a boyfriend."

She steps back almost immediately recoiling as Charlie's demise, bloody and violent colors her memory.

"No, no I don't. Look I-I have to go, I'm sorry. I need to find Madison."

Someone over hears the famous name remembering that they came in together.

"She gone, found another party, left with a bunch of girls."

Shaking her head in disbelief, Zoe makes her way past the crowd, searching for the way out, needing to escape, damning Madison for forcing her to go in the first place.

Worried for her alone in a house full of drunken guys, he follows a few steps behind.

Finally outside she begins walking up the narrow road back to Miss Robichaux's Academy before turning to face him.

He lifts his hands in defense, "I can't let you walk home alone, I'm sorry Zoe, but it's not safe."

Drowning in the irony of his words, she breathes out a weak 'thank you' before continuing on with him beside her.

Approaching the iron gate dividing the sidewalk and the coven's property Kyle can't help but press her gently.

"Zoe, do you have any plans tomorrow?"

Closing the gate behind her she held onto the cold iron rails tightly.

His stare walked a tightrope between innocence and seduction, as if there was a need, she wavered slightly, almost painfully telling him all he needed to know.

"Kyle we ... "

Moving closer he hovered over her, the bars stretching out between them keeping them apart, a metaphor of the challenges that awaited them.

Gripping the iron, he drifted his thumb over her fingers tenderly, there was quiet passion between them, one he was willing to wait for, to suffer for, no matter what the outcome.

"Let me take you out, show you around the city, no pressure or expectations. I promise you can trust me Zoe."

A slight nod reaffirmed that there was indeed hope for the hopeless, a promise of infinite possibilities, two souls taken by the wind.


	2. Amber sunsets

_**Amber sunsets**_

 _ **She rings like a bell through the night,**_

 _ **and wouldn't you love to love her….**_

A kaleidoscope of misty dreamlike images swirled inside his mind as he laid in bed thinking of the girl who walked into his world seemingly out of nowhere.

Brandy glazed eyes steeped in endless pools of mystery, a paradox of sadness and desire piercing through his most private thoughts, infiltrating his sleep, stealing his waking hours.

He tossed and turned while feelings fostered inside him, a yearning, a need like never before burned his skin flaming a part of him that had turned cold and dead, numbed by years of abuse vanished in these moments.

As if on another plane of existence with her, Kyle began his Sunday floating through his day in a fog, adrift on a fevered high, a fantasy of seeing her again.

By a stroke of pure luck, or so he thought, his mother was passed out by the time he came home the night before.

Dodging her once again in the morning while she was out, he read a note on the fridge inquiring of the faint sense of perfume on his clothes from the party.

Jealousy and anger lined her words, but they didn't have the same hold on him this time for some odd reason as he balled up the paper and tossed it in the trash.

Four tutoring sessions for impoverished kids along the ninth ward struggling for a way out through education kept him busy throughout his day, but not even the complexities of Calculus, Chemistry, and English Literature could shake him from the memory of her.

As much as she struggled to keep her distance, to draw a line in the sand between them, it was there in her eyes, in the raspberry shine of her parted lips and the blush of her rosy cheeks.

She was an ocean of wonder, a riddle of darkness and light, of breathless abandon and cautious pause.

Surrounded by impenetrable walls he saw a crack, a tiny window beckoning him in, daring him to follow.

Looking casual in jeans and a black tee shirt that accentuated the stark opposing darkness of his eyes against the pale angelic sheen of his skin he took a deep breath.

Insecurities bubbled up inside, secrets of deep seated shame and despair wormed their way around shaking his confidence rattling his sanity.

There was no arguing just how strikingly handsome he was, or his irresistible charm and sincere goodness that shone in a smile that could light up a room like the sun, but he saw none of it.

Full of doubts about himself staring at the reflection looking back at him, Kyle worried that she would somehow see through the veil of his disguise, the mask he wore for the world that hid the indignity and confusion he carried like weights upon his back.

Gripping the edge of the bathroom sink to still his shaky hands, he took a deep breath of courage as he swept his blonde waves from his eyes.

Jumping in a rusted dark blue sixty nine Chevy Impala, that he bought for next to nothing from one of the many that fled after Katrina, he tried to settle his racing heart as he drove towards the mansion on the hill.

 **zKz**

Tilting her head to the side, Zoe lifted her eyes at the girl reflected in the floor length mirror in what was now her bedroom.

She looked vastly different than the night before, with her honey blonde hair twisted in long braids and barely any make up.

Feeling much more like herself in a sleeveless button up white sheer long shirt covering a black camisole, and black leggings, her converse sneakers pointed in as guilt flooded her mind knowing just how wrong this was.

Adjusting her outfit awkwardly she attempted to block out the vision of bright red blood dripping from Charlie's eyes, and the helpless, desperate stare as his soul slowly left his body.

Reflective crimson pools seeped around her pale skin in her mind, permeating her being, her very soul, a nightmare that replayed itself continuously halting only in the fleeting moments when she was with him, the boy with the black eyes and the warm trusting smile.

Practically jumping out of her skin she suddenly heard the doorbell echo throughout the halls lined with black framed photographs of young girls, witches of long ago that seemed to follow her with their eyes as she walked by.

Gasping loud, shaken, her mind filled with the dead end road she was on with Kyle, she ran right into Madison who looked as if she stepped off some seedy street corner.

Raking her eyes up and down her thin frame, a dry menacing laugh pierced the rings of cigarette smoke floating up from her red lipstick mouth.

"Wow, if you're going for Amish chic, you've nailed it. I'm sure he'll be creaming his pants before midnight, that is if he lives that long… killer."

Brushing by her Zoe ran for the sweeping staircase of the majestic Antebellum manor, gripping the banister feeling Nan suddenly beside her.

Rising on her toes Nan tilted her wide brimmed black hat down, hiding her mouth, so that only Zoe could hear her low whispered words.

"Your fears are as useless as your insecurities, this boy is in love, his heart is the warmest I've ever felt, his soul pure white light, it may as well be made of gold. Madison doesn't have a chance in hell of turning his head… Zoe, this boy belongs to you."

Too nervous to process the foresight of Nan's words, Zoe ran down a few more steps just as the doorbell rang again.

Frustrated Queenie appeared on the scene mildly disturbed that no one was bothering to answer the bell.

Releasing the lock, she held the door wide at first, taking note on how Kyle immediately locked eyes with Zoe, electricity vibrated through all of them as undeniable sparks flew like lightning.

Feeling an odd protective hold over Zoe, even though she barely knew her, the voodoo child narrowed her eyes, looking down at the boy standing innocently on their stoop.

Closing the door slightly, giving him a view of the seriousness in her eyes, Queenie whispered pointedly determined on driving her point home.

"Look, we know who you are, and how to find you, so you better not pull anything. She may not be from around here, but I am. I know how you frat boys are - "

Wide eyed, taken off guard, Kyle tipped back on his heels, feeling horrible that anyone should worry for Zoe's safety with him.

"No ... no I'm not like those guys. I swear. I would never do anything to hurt Zoe, please believe me, she is safe with me."

Giggling quietly, standing at the door now, Nan nodded as she removed the fork that was about to pierce Queenie's hand.

"It was just going to be a little warning, nothing dire."

Clueless as to what Queenie was talking about, Kyle smiled up at Zoe sending a silent message of how happy he was to see her again.

Laughing louder this time, Nan pulled Queenie aside to rasp in her ear, excited by the rush of love blooming between them.

"Let him in, there is _nothing_ , not the power of angels from above, or scheming demons from hell below can stop what is happening here between these two."

Beaming red, Zoe ran down the stairs yelling in frustration out the door, leaving Kyle to follow behind while quickly waving to the three witches huddled by the door.

"Go back inside, the show's over!"

Shaking her head Madison snapped her gum while flicking her ashes to the brick steps below her heel clad feet.

"Stupid bitch wouldn't even know what to do with him."

Covering her mouth, Nan leaned as far as she could holding onto the white pillar watching the taillights of his car disappear over the crest of the hill.

"Forget it Madison, he'll never be yours."

Barking back the fierce teenager pushed her hard knocking her off balance nearly making her fall.

"Get out of my head little girl!"

 **zKz**

Holding a bouquet of violet oleanders that had been lying on the seat, Zoe brought them close, taking in their sweet fragrance.

"I take it these are for me."

Trying hard to concentrate on the road, Kyle nodded shyly.

"I hope you like them."

Sighing, Zoe drifted her fingertips over the delicate petals, never had been given flowers from a boy before.

"Opening car doors, flowers, proclaiming my safety, isn't this all a little archaic?"

Keeping his eyes forward, worried about getting distracted by her presence, Kyle drove fast trying to beat the strong sun as it began to sink behind eerie low hanging Spanish moss trees in the steamy dense night air.

"Can't help it, it's the way I was raised. Besides Zoe, you deserve far more… don't you know that?"

Staring out the open window, she let the wind flow through her fingers, rolling her hand along the strength of the warm breeze feeling guilty, knowing none of this was fair to him, that she should end it now.

Approaching a heavily wooded area just as the blurred expansion of the orange sunset lengthened out along the Mississippi, Kyle pulled over at the beginning of an old steel bridge.

"We're going to make it just in time."

With that he ran around the car, just as she was opening the door to take it the rest of the way, while offering his hand.

Hesitant, knowing this couldn't lead anywhere, feeling more and more as if this was a mistake, Zoe gave in placing her hand in his.

She was quickly rewarded with a wide smile accentuated by dimples that warmed her from the inside out, pushing away the nightmare of her situation, pulling her closer to him.

"Watch your step, be careful."

Leading her through a narrow trail along the side of the old iron bridge, he paused suddenly placing her in front of him, safe, close, his mouth hovering next to her ear.

Wrapping his arm around her, Kyle pointed straight ahead, lost in the crimson orange hue reflected upon her cheeks by the sleepy sun sinking into the calm water before them.

"There... now look at that."

Like a slice of an illuminated moon lying on its side, glowing downtown, the French Quarter and Jackson Square played tricks on the eye, melding the massive ornate bridges together, making them all appear intertwined on some magical landscape.

Thousands of city lights, along with the hazy glow of the fire of an amber sun, flowed down upon the glass stillness of the river below, making it look mystical, alive, vibrant in ways she'd could have never imagined.

"That's why it's called the Crescent City. New Orleans, or Vieux Carré as it was originally called was built along the hook of the Mississippi River, like a crescent shaped moon lit with lights shining so bright. I wonder if they knew it would look like the night sky, full of stars, heavenly."

Her body slowly relaxed, he could feel her ease as she let the stunning view transform her dark notion of life into something wondrous, if only for tonight.

Breathing out shakily, she unknowingly let herself lean back against his chest allowing him to support her, and just like that he was in heaven.

"Wow… it's so... beautiful."

While her eyes were focused on the profound view ahead of her, Kyle was spinning, falling, letting himself feel for the first time the warmth of something pure, real, untainted.

The depth of his black sensitive eyes gazed at her in awe, captivated by the girl resting trustingly, tenderly against him.

"Yeah… beautiful."

His soft whisper caused her to hold her breath with the realization that this all may be already out of her control.

"We're standing on the rusty rainbow bridge, I always thought it sounded kind of romantic, like a portal to a place where people come to make wishes, for a better life, for love, for moments … like... this."

Working hard to hold back tears threatening to spill over flushed cheeks, she shivered, trembling flush against him.

"I don't believe in wishes, sometimes bad things happen and there's nothing that can change it, if anything it changes you, no… I don't believe in fairy tales."

Flashing his soulful dark eyes out towards the city that pulled itself out from hell itself, he sighed, always looking to the future, to a better life, for the chance to help, to make a difference, to become someone different, better.

Rasping deeply, sounding as moving as the dramatic, stunning sunset rippling across the water he refuted her gently.

"No Zoe, there is always a way, a chance to change the world around you, yourself, to get out from beneath it all, you just have to believe, to … _want_ it bad enough. You never know what can happen, what is waiting for you… it's funny I always knew this to be true somehow, but meeting you last night, well... let's just say I have no doubt."

Drifting his hands down the warm skin of her arms leaving a trail of chills behind in their wake he laced his fingers through hers holding her close.

"You shouldn't say things like that Kyle. We shouldn't… I can't..."

Patiently he released her, unwilling to push her, or make her feel uncomfortable.

Moving so they were now side by side, he lowered his voice as the sun disappeared evoking the darkness of the night and all the mysteries it held.

Happily, unwilling to let her go just yet, he smiled wide again, sending shivers up the back of her neck.

"Come on, let's go, much more to see, the tour has only begun."

With that the the tension, along with any pressure she was feeling to give in to the intense attraction she felt for him all faded away as he took her hand.

Within minutes they were driving up to an old fashioned looking movie theater showered with twinkling lights, and a big marquee sign.

Once again opening her door, he offered his hand while narrating the history before her at their next stop.

"Welcome to the Prytania, the oldest movie theater in New Orleans, opening it's doors in 1915."

Ushering her along gently, with his hand lightly pressed to the small of her back, he continued, full of charm and soothing wit so intoxicating he was almost impossible to resist.

After winking to a young girl who waved his money away, they were led behind a thick red velvet curtain the other patrons were restricted from.

Zoe gasped as they settled into a hidden private balcony cut off from the small crowd settled in the seats below.

Sliding her fingers over the ornate carved wood curving around them, she leaned back into her rich leather high back chair shaking her head in disbelief.

"I don't understand, when you said you were going to show me the city, I thought we were headed to the French Quarter, to some bar, to the tourist traps, instead you show me the sunset -

Interrupting her sweetly, he swept his thumb across her cheek watching with bated breath as it flushed under his touch.

"Not just any sunset, the most romantic place to view a sunset in -

Wading exhaustively, trying to keep her head above water, doing her best from drowning in him, and everything that he was, she raised her hand to keep him from talking.

"I know, _I know_ , … a-and it was, it _really_ was, but then you take me … _here_. I thought I made myself clear, we can only be friends. This can't go any further, this night, what you're doing… well… you're making that line very blurry for me."

Looking upset, worried that he was scaring her off, that whatever it was that was forcing her to deny what was there between them, was creeping in again, he let out a shaky sigh.

Staring at her in awe, he twisted her golden braid around his finger, edging her face up towards his mouth, all along fighting the intense need to kiss her.

His voice fell soft, gentle, as if on cue the lights dimmed making the moment all the more poetic.

The word **'Casablanca'** appeared on a large screen, it was clear he was romancing her, pursuing something intimate, far deeper than friendship, more meaningful than a causal affair.

"I couldn't take you those tourist traps, streets full of drunk college kids, bars too loud for us to talk, that's not the real New Orleans. I wanted to show you the beauty of this city, the places people rarely see. You're special Zoe, amazing… I wanted you to feel that, was I wrong?"

Without realizing it, she found herself within inches of him, watching intently as he spoke, wondering if he was aware of just how beautiful he was, instinctively believing that every word he said was from the heart.

She felt it happening, a kiss in the making, an embrace that would forever change everything.

Like a dam breaking, his will to resist her cracked, shattering under the weight of an overwhelming desire that could no longer be kept inside.

Sliding his hand around the nape of her neck, he tilted her chin brushing his mouth softly against her lips, breathing her in, sinking into her her, holding her there for what seemed an eternity as Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman ignited with undeniable chemistry on screen together for the first time.

Pressing her hand against his chest, grasping desperately for the will to push him away, she breathlessly struggled to explain what she could never reveal to him.

"Kyle… there are things you don't know… bad, dangerous things about me that can hurt you. This can't happen."

Grazing his thumb across her bottom lip, he pressed her against the worn leather chair telling her softly what she already knew.

"It's too late for warnings, whatever you think you are, no matter the harm you imagine you can inflict on me, it would be far more damaging if you turned away from me now."

His dark eyes drifted shut as he went in to taste her once more, this time with a sense of urgency, deepening a kiss that was far less innocent in nature, proving his intentions were true.

 _ **zkzkzkzkzkzkzkzk**_

 _ **DinahRay, Gwenyth Taylor Plunkett, Chris P.C., Guest 101, and my other guest, thank you so much for your replies, sorry for the long wait, so not my choice.**_

 _ **(lyrics from Rhiannon, by Fleetwood Mac, the goddess Stevie Nicks)**_


	3. Trial by Fire

_**Trial by Fire**_

 _ **Thunder only happens when it's raining…**_

Looking up at the bright full moon that was now encased in wispy white clouds, Zoe gazed out over dreamy Lake Pontchartrain while feeling the weight of his amorous stare heavy upon her.

Soothing waves lapped lazily against the dock where they dined on spicy Jambalaya.

Nestled away from the crowded restaurant, they were tucked in a corner patio table, lit with one small flickering white candle.

It seemed Kyle had connections everywhere, a steady stream of people warmly welcoming him as they passed by, there was no doubt he was well loved by the community he often selflessly gave his time to.

This place was no exception she soon found out when an elderly man with a thick Cajun accent quickly ushered them to the solitary table removing the 'reserved' sign hiding it behind his back.

Kyle was swooning over her, caught up in the most perfect night of his life, in the most beautiful girl he had ever known.

Sighing heavily as soft Jazz wafted in symphony with croaking frogs and singing crickets he pushed his food around too lost in the moment to eat.

It was the third destination on his list, and just like everything else he had planned, it would leave a lasting impression on her.

The Blue Crab was again far from the pricey hot spots, a modest family run restaurant, it was in keeping with his theme of true New Orleans, overflowing on rustic ambiance and authenticity.

The food, which she couldn't help but devour was unlike anything she ever had, the conversation flowed naturally between them as if they had known each other their entire lives, minus of course the secrets they were both determined to hide.

Topics ranged from politics to music, to past experiences that shaped who they were, including the devastating hurricane that forever changed his beloved city.

"I was only eight when it happened, the corruption, the downright failure from local Government straight on up to the White house was hard to believe. No one came for us, no one cared."

Hanging on his every word she felt connected to him in some way, swept up by his impassioned words, impressed with his unmistakable maturity.

"I can't imagine what that must have been like for you."

Not wanting to bring down the night he flashed a wide grin.

"That's why I'm going to be an engineer, I'm going to right the wrongs, protect the public, the poor, the helpless, do the job that the army corp of engineers were supposed to do but didn't. I want to make a difference, be the voice for those who had none that day and the days that followed."

An expression lit her face, one he couldn't make out. A feeling of insecurity sunk in his gut knowing how girls usually reacted to his strong convictions, which was usually with a bored glazed look in their eyes leading to a polite send off, sometimes not so polite.

"I've never met anyone like you before."

Her statement was quiet, laced with indications that she was not only impressed, but deeply moved by him.

Feeling embarrassed by the attention, he quickly moved the conversation in her direction.

"So, you never did tell me where you came from, where did that long train ride you mentioned earlier tonight originate?"

Unprepared for the sudden shift, she studied him, feeling herself falling with each moment as he leaned his elbow on the worn wood railing.

For a moment she forgot that he was watching her too as her eyes followed his fingers while they lifted his blonde waves off his dark inviting stare.

Suddenly connecting, she averted her attention, shying away when his mouth lifted in a knowing smile.

Taking a sip of water, stalling, she scrambled trying not to get lost in the nightmare still fresh in her mind, but it was too late.

Memories flooded, images emerged of just how quickly they took her with no explanation, away from her family, while Charlie was still fresh in the ground.

Taking another lingering sip of water she cleared her throat knowing the lies would have to start.

"Massachusetts, a world away."

Nodding riveted by her every word, he pushed a little further, needing to know everything about her.

"If you don't mind me asking, how long were you aware that you were headed here, I get the feeling this was not planned."

Startled by how closely he had been paying attention to the little bread crumbs she unintentionally was leaving behind, she reeled back slightly, almost defensively.

"How - what makes you say that?"

Easing her softly, he leaned in staring at her with those black hypnotic eyes that made her wonder if he had access to a hint of magic himself.

"I'm just observant is all, you came almost four weeks after the term started, it's clear you're not comfortable here, you're nothing like the other girls in your house, you seem a little … _lost_ I guess… like this was all a big surprise. it leads me to think it wasn't your decision to be here. Then of course there's the obvious."

Grinning, almost proud of himself as he witnessed a slight curve of her mouth indicating that she was impressed by his spot on assumption.

"Oh really," she replied, finding herself being drawn closer to him, "and what would that be?"

Raising his eyebrows, Kyle once again twisted her long braid around his finger unable to keep from touching her.

"Really? Miss Robichaux's Academy for exceptional young ladies? A finishing school? _You_?"

Trying to hold in her laughter she faked insult. "And why is that so shocking?"

Letting her braid go, he took her hand in his sweeping his thumb over her skin slowly, intentionally conveying his feelings in every possible way.

Lowering his voice, he lulled her with sweet seductive tones, too mesmerizing to turn away from.

"It just seems that learning skills like social graces and etiquette would be the last thing in the world that would interest you. Foregoing the archaic, sexist, and in my opinion, insulting meaning behind it all, it's clear you are far above something so outdated and frivolous. You should be studying Shakespeare, Political Science, Psychology... a girl like you is not meant to excel at throwing dinner parties, someone like _you_ … **you** were meant to change the world Zoe."

"You hardly know me."

"I know enough."

He was unwavering in his response, it was the most aggressive, unapologetic move he'd made throughout the night spurring her to challenge him.

"Not even close."

She answered with a hard edge, another mysterious hint of a past he knew somehow haunted her, keeping her at a distance.

"I see more than you think I do, more than you want people to notice."

Releasing his hand she looked out onto the bayou, the stillness of the water, at the glowing eyes peeking out from a fine sheen of moss as eerie sounds of creatures lurking in the night rose up around her.

"Kyle - "

"You don't belong here, maybe Harvard, Princeton, NYC, … I'm sure you could have your pick."

Waving him away, she lowered her eyes to the candle concentrating on the pure absurdity of her situation.

"Zoe, it's blindingly clear how smart you are, you're an intellectual, grounded, self aware, graceful… incredibly strong as you are beautiful… what's going on? Why did your parents send you here?"

Pursing her lips, Zoe focused on the flickering flame while whispering a low pronounced, 'stop.'

Running his fingertips along her wrist, feeling the rapid increase of her pulse, he knew he was pushing her out of her comfort zone, but it was driving him crazy not knowing what tortured her so.

It was clear how much he already cared, how there was nothing he wouldn't do for her.

"What makes you all that more amazing, is that you're not even aware of any of it... of who you are, what you're capable of, but it's there Zoe, you glow, you radiate in a way I've never seen, it's impossible not to be drawn to you."

Words ran through her head like a runaway train shoving away his sincere, incredibly romantic, sweet observations.

 _Black widow, murderer, harbinger of death… the very definition of evil itself._

She wondered how attractive she'd seem to him if he knew they could never make love, if he was dooming himself unknowingly to a freak, someone who could end his life with one firm thrust.

Again she said the word, louder this time while her frustrations grew, along with the length of the flame that shone bright in her eyes.

" **Stop** … _please_."

His stare grew wide as he watched in confusion as a small flickering ember had risen almost a foot high into the air between them.

"Zoe."

Consumed in the horrifying reality of what she was, and what that meant, a long loveless life, destined to rot from the inside out, a barely touched flower that would be reduced ash, she began to lose control.

Wax melted quickly spreading out along the small tablecloth as the fire ripped higher gaining the attention of a few waiters and patrons who were beginning to whispered with concern.

 _"Zoe…_ "

He watched in wonder as her fingers curled, nails dug into her palms, the whiskey tint of her eyes turning almost as black as his.

It was almost as if she was causing the fire, calling out to it, channeling her rage, her helplessness.

But that couldn't be, he thought suddenly, realizing just how ridiculous he was being.

Snapping out of irrational thoughts, his attention quickly rushed to her safety as he dumped his water and hers extinguishing the fire quickly.

Breathless she fell back against her chair as if her energy was depleted, she looked stressed, exhausted, but mostly bewildered, unaware that it was indeed her that lifted the fire upwards to the sky.

Her powers were growing, evolving already into something she did not even recognize.

Now with the full attention of the staff and strangers nearby, she lifted her eyes, which were back to their rich bourbon color, to plead with him wordlessly.

'Get me out of here.'

Immediately, but with a coolness and casual demeanor that seemed to put everyone at ease, Kyle swiftly moved their plates and silverware to another empty table to neatly fold the damaged burnt cloth, tucking it safely in the garbage.

Approaching the same man who seated them, he whispered in his ear before discreetly placing several bills into his palm.

Within no time she found herself sitting back in the safety of his car, holding her bouquet of violet oleanders, drifting down the darkened streets as if nothing had ever happened.

Kyle was quiet, thoughtful, trying hard to digest what had just occurred, thinking of possible reasons how it could even be possible.

Worried, catching her gazing somberly out the window, he pulled the car over to a small grove of trees hidden from prying eyes.

"Are you okay? A strong wind must have taken the flame, I've seen stranger things happen, I'm sorry if it spooked you. I hope our night wasn't ruined. I still have one more place I'd like to take you if - "

Keeping her stare focused on the horizon out her window she interrupted him abruptly.

"You need to take me home."

Her mind lingered on that last word, 'home', feeling as if it had lost all its meaning. The school wasn't her home, she no longer had a home, just a place to sleep, a cell that kept her separated from the world, which considering her lethal tendencies, she thought maybe was just.

A cruel twist of fate, but a destiny she was beginning to be resolved to.

"No, Zoe… please, don't do this."

An end to this night seemed like a brutal cutting punch to his gut, he already was missing her, and she was sitting just a few inches away.

"Kyle, this is my fault. I led you on, made you think that … _this…_ that _we_ could be anything. It's just not going to happen, it can't."

"Why?"

"Kyle… "

" _No_ … tell me what you're so afraid of Zoe, was there someone back home? Is he the reason you're here, did your parents send you away because of a guy? Maybe someone you cared about?"

Tears wavered along her long eyelashes threatening to spill over as he gently forced her to look at him.

"Zoe? You're crying, you're hurt, who hurt you? Please talk to me."

Seized by his stare, the depth of the darkness of his eyes, the endless possibilities that shone it their beauty, in the life that she could have had with this heavenly creature.

She paused, hovering in his affections, torn by knowing he was ultimately unattainable, it was then she saw him slipping away.

Grasping onto his shirt, she couldn't help herself as she twisted the material inside her tiny fists pulling him close to her, rebelling against a truth she was determined to ignore.

Shocked by her actions he spent no time questioning her constant conflicting feelings as he took her mouth.

His hands drifted without restraint along her ribs grazing his thumbs beneath her breasts causing something in her to break.

Forgoing all that she knew, she brought her hands down delving beneath his tee shirt desperate to feel his warm skin.

Between fevered kisses she heard soft echoing variations of her name expelled from his perfect mouth as he reacted to her aggressive moves, drowning in her touch, euphorically losing himself in her as if his life depended it.

Gingerly edging her head back his lips swept like velvet petals over her neck lingering along her rapid pulse, wishing he could spend forever evoking the sounds that fell from her breathily.

His thumb rolled over the button of her shirt many times as if he was trying to hold back, worrying in the back of his head that rushing her could be a mistake.

His questioning mind was answered for him as she batted his hand away to undo the buttons herself.

A hush of a moan floated along the hot breeze that rattled that leaves hovering over the roof of his car as the insects that loomed in the woods increased in volume.

Delicate fingers rose and fell over the hard muscles contracting under her touch, shivering beneath the sheer pleasure he was feeling from her.

It soon became very clear how deeply she was affecting him as her hand left his chest to drift lower.

Taking her hand in his instantly he pinned it against the seat as flashes ripped through his mind that he couldn't control.

Years of abuse had reared its head causing him to reach for her other hand, so she couldn't touch him.

It was her that he wanted to concentrate on as his mouth bordered the skin peeking out from her black camisole.

Soft flicks of his tongue edged along the swell of her breasts as his fingers curled around her hands passionately.

It was only when two blinding headlights appeared out of nowhere that they broke apart, both dazed, shaken by what they obviously didn't expect.

"What the hell? "

Confused she quickly adjusted her clothes matting down the stray hairs that had come apart from her once tight braids.

Coming out of the shadows it became clear that Zoe wasn't seeing things when Cordelia appeared to be approaching the driver's side window.

"Who is that?"

"The headmistress of my school."

Before he could speak Cordelia waved for Zoe to join her talking quickly.

"I'm so sorry to bother you, but I need your help, Nan took a nasty fall, you're needed back home."

Jumping out the car, waiting till Cordelia was back behind the wheel and out of earshot, Zoe leaned into the open window.

Kyle handed her the flowers, floored by what had happened, at the same time somehow feeling as if he had met this woman before.

"I don't understand, how the hell did she find us?"

Stumped for a few seconds, Zoe floundered before raising her cell phone in the air.

"My parents keep a tight leash, even from far away."

Nodding, unsure of her explanation, he pulled her down for one last lingering kiss before reluctantly releasing her.

"Tomorrow? Can I see you?"

Her response was swift, hard as she looked up into the eyes of the woman who knew exactly what she was.

"No, I'm sorry, I'm not sure when we can see each other again Kyle… I'll call you. I have to go."

Falling back onto the seat, he breathed out shakily, unsettled by her answer as his heart rammed against his ribs, reacting still to feelings that he knew now would be impossible to let go.

 _ **zkzkzkzkzkzkzkzk**_

 _ **DinahRay, Gwenyth Taylor Plunkett, Chris P.C., thank you so much for your replies :)**_

 _ **I looked, I couldn't find the place where Zoe was from, so I improvised. I apologize if I got it wrong.**_

 _ **(lyrics from Dreams, by Fleetwood Mac)**_


	4. Dreams

_**Dreams**_

 _ **Wait a minute baby, stay with me awhile,**_

 ** _Said you'd give me light, but you never told me about the fire..._**

Running her fingertips over her lips, Zoe, still feeling his warm breath against her skin stared dreamily out the window on the way home.

It wasn't till they arrived that she found nothing wrong with Nan, in fact it was the bouncy, intrusive teen that answered the door, without a scratch on her.

"Nan? Wait… I thought - "

Ushered quickly by Cordelia to the greenhouse, Zoe soon found herself the center of attention.

The beautiful, humble headmistress quickly waved herbs and wildflowers over her while whispering Latin incantations to remove any negative energy derived from fear and other intrusive elements.

"Protege, puerum istum, et munda extra illam influit in cogitationes."

"Da robur, aperi oculos dono tradita sit dea noctis duce animum et amorem."

 _(Protect this child, cleanse her of harmful thoughts and outside influences.)_

 _(Give her strength, open her eyes to the gift she has been given, let courage and love be her guide oh goddess of the night.)_

Pulling up a chair, Cordelia took Zoe's hands in hers feeling the warmth radiating from her skin.

Confused by the treatment she was receiving, Zoe sighed impatiently, feeling as if she had enough to deal with already.

"What is this all about? I don't understand."

Smiling knowingly, Cordelia waved her hand over Zoe's head, understanding that the Latin phrases could seem a bit unsettling if not understood properly.

"Just a spell of protection, something to open your mind, and your heart."

Leafy dark vines full of mystery began to suddenly slither slowly down from the ceiling and walls, curling around objects, swaying magically in the air around Zoe.

Closed flowered blooms burst open giving off an intoxicating fragrant scent that immediately effected the young girl evoking the image of Kyle in her minds eye.

Cordelia hummed in agreement, as if feeling her emotions.

"That boy _is_ special, there is no disputing that fact, beautiful, inside and out, a heart pure in light, selfless, true, such one that few in this word possess."

Shaking her head to clear the fog she felt pulled into, Zoe looked up at Cordelia suspiciously.

"You _know_ Kyle?"

Turning away from Zoe, she sidestepped her by asking a question right back.

"You do realize that the feelings you have for him far exceed the realm of friendship."

Sighing heavily, Zoe folded within herself, sinking into the possibility that there is no other recourse but to cut off all ties with him.

"I know, and I'm sorry for letting it go as far as it did, I'm guessing that's why you showed up, to drag me away before things got… deadly."

Scoffing, Cordelia rose, her long white dress sweeping up in a wave around her thin waist as she went to her desk.

Swirling around lime green liquid in a test tube, she studied the change in color as he wrapped her hand around the glass whispering something inaudible.

Unsatisfied she dumped the results in the garbage before looking back.

"Well then, you would be wrong."

Feeling the light silky sway of a magnolia sweep across her cheek from the ceiling above, Zoe batted the flower away quickly losing patience.

"I don't understand, you know what I am, what I can do. I can't imagine the witches council being okay with me dating anyone."

Leaning over the high back wrought iron chair, Cordelia smiled assuredly.

"First of all, I'm in charge of you girls, not the witches council, secondly, you nor I fully understand the depth of your power, or more precisely how it can be controlled."

Standing, Zoe's voice heightened with a glimmer of hope as she repeated the word, that before this moment seemed unrealistic.

 _"Controlled_? Do you mean there may be a cure?"

Concentrating on several vials of various sizes in front of her, now billowing with smoke, Cordelia became suddenly vague.

"Possibly... let's just say that I'm working on it."

Almost immediately Zoe reached for her cell, anxious to speak to him, just to hear his voice, at the very least to elaborate on the lie so he didn't think her vanishing act had anything to do with him.

Reaching for her hand, Cordelia stopped Zoe from making the call.

"Wait just a second, we're not finished here."

While she was fulling invested in helping Zoe, _and_ Kyle for that matter, she needed her to know just how serious this was.

"Zoe, there is no guarantee that I'm right, all I'm saying is that I see the _potential_ of change."

It was more than that, but it was too risky to give Zoe that kind of hope without being sure, more importantly with Kyle's life at risk there could be no room for doubt.

Cordelia had to make sure they were both safe without discouraging her from perusing a relationship with him.

"I don't have conclusive answers yet, but I am working hard, I promise I am doing everything I can."

Sensing an air of confusion, Cordelia thought it was only fair to be clear on the one element she knew to be true.

"There is one thing I am sure of, _Kyle_ holds the key to all of this. He is different, unlike anyone else when it comes to you. I know you feel it when you're with him, witches and alike from miles around can sense it, that's how _strong_ your bond is. While still new, and fragile, what is there is love Zoe, make no mistake about it. I'm afraid that with any other boy the results will always be the same as Charlie. You must never forget that."

Trying to wrap her head around what Cordelia was saying, Zoe wrung her hands together anxiously.

"You're saying… that my cure, my hope of possibly controlling this... its because of him?"

Nodding, the white witch lovingly cupped Zoe's cheek taking in the deep vibrations of conflicting emotions that were flowing through her.

Feeling the need to protect him, Cordelia hinted to the darkness that surrounds him, the horrific trials that he has had to endure most of his life.

Knowing the truth had to come from him in the end, she did her best to cast a light around him that Zoe could recognize.

"Kyle has been through hell and back, he is in a constant struggle with something that is working hard to destroy him. Still he chooses to be kind, to walk through this world in the light, he strives to be a good person. Most would buckle, drown, descend to a dark and treacherous path with the weight that he is forced to carry."

Unaware of anything wrong in his life, besides his struggle with poverty, Zoe leans on Cordelia desperate know the truth.

"I don't understand, what do you mean ...hell? What happened to him? How do you know him?"

Fearing that she revealed too much, Cordelia back peddled.

"That is a story for another day."

Frustrated Zoe stood teary eyed, "Please... just tell me what's wrong, maybe I can help."

A deep sadness overtook Cordelia thinking about his sweet soul, her answer was harsh, but necessary.

"It's not my truth to tell Zoe dear, he has to grow to trust you enough to let you in, but I will tell you this. He's going to need you, your patience… your unconditional love, because Zoe... if you should turn away from him because of this secret, it would surely kill him faster and more painfully than anything you can imagine, far worse than Charlie."

Zoe's eyes widened, her mind raced with possibilities, reaching to the darkest of places.

Gaining her attention back, feeling the immediate need to distract her, Cordelia changed the subject, quite abruptly.

"Zoe, we still need to talk about the issue at hand. You do understand that ... there are ... _ways_ of being _intimate_ without actual penetration."

Zoe was mortified. "No need to elaborate, I see where you're going, I get it. Thank you for the talk, but I'm really tired, is it alright if I head up to bed now?"

Shrugging Cordelia edged her fingers over the velvet petals of a white magnolia flower floating down from the glass ceiling.

"Of course Zoe, just remember I'm here if you should ever need to talk."

Nodding, Zoe found herself running up the stairs past Nan who was fast on her heels.

Before she could utter a word Zoe pressed her hand to her mouth. "Please Nan, give me a pass tonight. I don't want the others hearing you."

Laughing wickedly, Madison popped up behind Nan wrapping her arm tight around her shoulder.

"Too late! Just give him a blow job Zoe, that's all they really want anyway."

Poking her tongue on the inside of her cheek repeatedly, Madison curled her hand motioning the act.

"The trick is to **suck it hard** , don't be afraid of it, relax the throat, take it alllll in."

Passing by, Queenie rolled her eyes. "Instructions from the expert herself, you should listen to her Zoe, word is those frat boys line up for Madison's special BJ's."

It wasn't long before a brawl between the two young witches had broken out, with fat insults hurling from Madison, and Queenie plunging a letter opener into her palm.

Slamming her bedroom door behind her, Zoe sighed.

Shutting out the world, and all the ugliness surrounding her, her thoughts drifted almost instantly to Kyle as she headed to bed.

 **zKz**

Smiling widely he chases her through a seemingly endless meadow, it's dark, the sky, full of stars gazing their shy eyes down at the lovers below.

The grass was tall, brushing her bare thighs like silk as she ran, heart beating fast, breathlessly, she gazed back at him, briefly paralyzing him in her beauty that was so uniquely hers.

Wildflowers dot the landscape beneath their bare feet. Violet, pale yellow, cobalt blue, colors vivid and bright light the air around her like fireworks.

He's moved by the scene that surrounds him, he feels safe, as if nothing bad can touch him.

With a gentle hand he reaches out wrapping an arm around her tiny waist pulling her close to him.

Her hair is long, free, windswept, wild around her face, her cheeks are flushed, her skin hot.

He is completely lost in her for the moment, forgetting everything that's ever happened before she walked into his life.

He's nervous as he lets his hands roam down the thin cotton dress that is slipping off her shoulder with the help of his hesitant fingers.

Her shoulders rise shyly, but she does nothing to stop the slow descent of her transparent gown.

His lips are warm against her back, a sweet kiss, a silent way of asking for permission to journey further.

She smells like magnolias, the scent is distinct, intoxicating, it's all around him invading his senses.

Reaching back she laces her fingers through his blonde waves, her head drifts back against his broad shoulder, he shivers in response somehow knowing she needs this as bad as he does.

He holds her for a moment, letting her know how much this means to him, that she is the answer to his prayers, a gift he's waited his entire life for.

It's important to him, for her to know that he's falling fast, he feels it in his bones, his heart, this is love, he's _finally_ found love.

Turning towards him she takes the hem of his shirt, lifting it slowly up over his head.

She takes in every beautiful inch of his pale smooth skin that seems to glow before her.

Fireflies appear swirling around them in a flurry of light, the night is made for this, for them.

He's physically affected by her stare, the way she trembles with curiosity is overwhelming.

The intensity of moment takes on a life of its own as he takes her mouth.

His kisses grow deep, heated, nearly taking her breath away.

His lifts her dress, gathering it in the palms of his hands, so he can drag his fingertips up along her body, feeling her bare skin along the way.

She's dizzy, the sky above grows hazy, stars blur streaking bright light across the sky as he grazes her neck with his mouth.

He brings her thin gown up past her silky thighs, the curve of her hips, her tiny waist and beyond, mapping her out as he goes.

His touch is as light as feathers just barely grazing her skin, but it's the most erotic experience of her life.

He treats her as if she is divine, sacred, she's never felt so beautiful, so wanted.

He begins to move his lips over her throat whispering her name in a way that she's never heard it before.

"Zoe… "

She's bare before him now, the sight is beyond anything he's dared to imagine.

A sharp intake of air is heard, she's bashful under such admiration as the material is tossed against the waving grass beside them.

The moonlight shines off her skin, an iridescent glow of flowers around her shimmer with colors that will stay with him forever.

Stepping close she reaches for the button of his jeans, releasing it quickly.

After lowering the zipper, she can't help herself, her fingers roam, skimming across his stomach lightly making his muscles tighten.

His body comes alive, there is no hiding it, there's no reason he should.

She lifts her eyes to meet his, a silent agreement has been made, this can't wait.

With new found courage, she rises on her toes to kiss him.

His hands twist her blonde hair inside tight fists as she pushes his jeans just low enough so that she can touch him.

He immediately breaks their kiss feeling her tiny hand wrap around him, this simple act nearly brings him to his knees.

His need for her is overwhelming, all consuming, he can't hold off any longer.

Lowering her down against the soft grass they are now concealed from the world, hidden from all that can harm them, guarded by those who rule the night and all its creatures.

Sweeping his hand down from the blush of her cheek over her the rapid pulse of her throat he watches closely.

Mesmerized by each response she gives, every breath, each rise and fall of her breasts, her skin as it trembles slightly, beautifully, beneath his touch.

Knowing that it's him orchestrating her reactions is almost enough to bring him to the edge as her legs come together.

Her thighs clench in an effort to soothe an ache stronger than she's ever felt, he gently parts them with his knee.

Hovering over her, black intense eyes speak to her without words, he's going to be the only one to give her that pleasure she craving.

Cupping her breast he sweeps this thumb over her hard nipple before taking it between his lips, lavishing it with his soft tongue,

Her head falls back, a broken moan lifts into the air, he's shaking now, under her spell, taken by the wind, a forever link in the chain of her life.

Once again her eyes open, watching the stars move above her in a dazzling light show as he moves lower brushing his mouth over her lightly along the way.

Her fingers dive into his thick light tresses as he flutters his tongue between her thighs, languidly he tastes her as if he wants to spend forever bringing her to the point where she falls apart.

"Kyle!"

In seconds she is coming hard, she writhes beneath him, her voice rising unashamed, lost in the moment.

Her body ceases as the stars above explode shattering sparks of magic down all over them in shower of light and fire.

He refuses to leave swiping his tongue back and forth along her pulsating clit, his hands firmly wrapped around her thighs, keeping her there till he is fully sated.

Her body quivers beneath him as he rises to gaze into her whiskey tinted eyes once again.

Sliding between her legs he skims her entrance, brushing her sex lightly as he slowly, deeply kisses her.

He smiles knowingly at her, lips curve upwards along hers, they know how special this is, he is happy, truly happy for the first time in his life.

She looks away, as her behavior makes its way back to memory.

She's embarrassed, he's in love.

"God, I can't believe I… that was … so - "

" _Beautiful._ You. are. beautiful. Zoe."

His whispered voice takes a hold of her, refusing to let go, deep, gruff, innocent and sultry all at once, she can no longer wait.

Her hands drift down the slope of his back over his cheeks urging him to continue, to come inside.

His smile falls away, replaced by a look that grips her, he's serious now.

His dark eyes gaze deep inside her, he sees all of her, her secrets, regrets, flaws, he wants it all, he wants _her,_ forever.

His mouth falls slightly open as he finally moves, the pleasure in his face is only rivaled by the love he feels for her.

She's soft, warm, wet, he wants to never leave, his arms braced on either side of her head begin to shake, fingers dig into the soft earth embedding dirt beneath his nails.

He's barely inside before he retreats slowly making the moment as intense as possible, he repeats this move, controlling what he knows will be over far too quick if he should give into his impulse to bury himself within her.

This slow tease is torturous, fruitlessly she grips his strong arms urging him to go further, faster, but he holds on, drowning in her, burning her in his memory, making it the single most significant moment of his young life.

The delicious friction becomes overwhelming as he falls onto his forearms, burying his face in her neck ripping the grass from the roots he drives deep inside.

 _"Zoe…"_

Strangled throaty echos of her name lay wet on her skin with each thrust as she wraps her thighs tight around him pulling him in further.

Glistening with sweat their bodies intertwine in a dance of the ages, hearts pound together bonding them in an unbreakable way that few will ever know.

Black as night his eyes fly open as he feels her shudder around him, he finally lets go.

Just like that, his heart is hers, in a storm of pleasure she cries out his name again and again as he jerks against her skin, opening himself up like never before.

It's music, her voice, over and over.

 _"Kyle."_

 _"Kyle."_

" **Kyle** **wake up!** Goddamn it Kyle what the hell is going on?!"

Shattering his dream, that in his mind was as real as anything he had ever felt, Kyle jumped up pulling the covers over himself, trying to hide what was very apparent.

"Mom, you need to go."

Reaching for his jeans he's too dazed to understand what he just did.

"What did you just say to me?"

The brutal intensity of her voice brings him closer to the nightmare that is his life.

"I-I'm sorry mom, but I need to get dressed, I have something I have to do."

Exasperated, she reels back, furious.

"Who is she?"

Frozen, Kyle tenses, his eyes remain firmly planted on the floor.

His voice is shaky, clearly lying as he fought against the power his mother has over him.

"A friend just text me, he's too drunk to drive, he needs a ride. I have to go … now."

Rushing over to him she ripped the covers from his hands revealing the evidence of what his dream had brought him.

"Mom… please."

Covering himself again, he cowered back against the wall, folding within himself, wishing he was dead, that he could just disappear.

"I'm only going to ask one more time, who is the slut you've been seeing Kyle!"

Wiping the sweat from his brow, his eyes widen in a blur of shock and confusion noticing thick brown dirt shoved beneath his fingernails.

Sniffing the air his mother moved closer to him, confused.

"What the hell? Is smells like damn magnolias in here."

It was the flower in it's purest form, she knew enough that it wasn't some cheap perfume, growing up in Louisiana taught her that much, but she wasn't letting her suspicions go.

Kyle's muscles tensed suddenly recognizing the scent from his dream, it was her, Zoe.

Sitting on the edge of the bed, she nervously began to rattle on further plunging Kyle into a familiar hell.

"I knew this would happen, who is she? Some sorority whore from that party I bet, I knew this was comin' … that you'd be pulling away from me. How can you do this to me Kyle… after all we've been through … "

Kyle's brain went numb, her words a distant echo reminding himself who he really was. Shame, guilt, despair poured through him like poison, pulling down into into a black endless hole.

"Are you listening to me? Kyle!"

Slowly he nodded as she made her way closer to him.

"There is no girl mom… I must have had a nightmare. I'm sorry I woke you."

Her temperament changed on a dime hearing his apology.

Nodding anxiously she pulled in him for a hug, kissing the top of his head.

That's how it always started, first with a maternal, nurturing embrace, slowly turning into something else entirely.

She was beyond sinister, manipulating him in ways that were impossible for a son to fight, especially someone as vulnerable as Kyle.

Tears stung his eyes as he felt her hand on his thigh knowing where this was leading.

Thunder rolled in the distance across a seemingly clear sky that was quickly becoming cloudy with each second.

His heart began to pound, he felt the room spinning, he was going to be sick.

 _'Please'_

It was a single word released out into the ether in his mind.

One simple plea for help from a cruel unforgiving world.

Suddenly a loud clap of thunder followed by a flash of blinding white light shook the house startling them both.

Momentarily she released him, taking the chance he was given, he stood from his bed to reach for his clothes.

The sky opened up raining down almost violently sideways around them.

"Mom I have to go get Dave, he's waiting - "

Cutting him off she wrapped her arms around him from behind pulling him close.

"Stop lying, momma knows when you lie Kyle, you don't have the heart for it. I know what you need, I always know what you need … now just - "

Suddenly a huge raven came crashing into his window cracking the glass like a spider web in every direction.

It was enough to cause his mother to jump away screaming as the huge black bird pecked at the glass viciously.

"What the hell is that!"

For the first time in his young life Kyle took the chance he was given.

Ignoring her demands, her cry for help as the bird continued to pound on the window, he ran towards the front door.

Pulling a shirt over his head he jumped into his jeans grabbing his keys on the way out.

 **"Kyle! Kyle! Where are you going! I need you! You don't even have shoes on your feet, Kyle get back here please I - "**

Shaking, soaked by just the short distance to the car, he started the ignition, peeling away from the little white house heading straight to the girl in his dreams.

 **zkz**

Tossing and turning Zoe gripped crisp white sheets as she felt his hands on her, his mouth panting, whispering along her throat, his body moving over her with each heavenly thrust deep inside.

Breathlessly her lips parted, lost in him, in the ever changing sultry release of her name from his beautiful mouth.

 _"Zoe… "_

 _"Zoe… "_

 **"Zoe!"**

 **"Zoe! Wake up!"**

Suddenly she was pulled from her dream as she sat up covered in sweat, barely able to breath.

Smirking, with her hands on her hips, Madison shook her head as another pebble hit their window.

Throwing her cell at her she jumped back in bed.

"Next time leave your phone on, he's outside by the way, try not to kill him."

Rushing to her window she looked down to see him staring up at her, drenched, desperate to talk.

Concern flooded her body like poison, something horrible had happened to him, she could sense it.

Running barefoot down the stairs to the front door, her power raised each flame of every candle she passed five inches in the air.

A sweet smile lifted with satisfaction down in the greenhouse as a black winged bird fluttered wildly by her side settling back on it's perch.

Widening the door quickly Zoe ran outside, becoming immersed in the falling rain herself.

"What is it Kyle? Are you alright?"

Out of breath, he stood before her, barefoot, clothes soaked, stuck to his body, rain droplets falling in succession from the tips of his flaxen waves down to parted lips he raised his hands in front of her.

Showing her the dirt embedded in his nails, he waited restlessly for her to respond.

"Tell me I'm not crazy, please Zoe... tell me... did you have the same dream?"

Her eyes flickered from the ground back up to his penetrating eyes that waited impatiently to hear her speak the impossible.

"I-I, well ... Kyle that's impossible, you - "

" **No,** please, don't deny it. Zoe... Your perfume... the scent of magnolias, is all over me."

Gently grabbing her shoulders, he pulled her close, brushing his mouth against her ear.

"I can still taste you."

Pulling away from him, embarrassed, confused, she wondered if she willed it to happen, if her powers were stronger than she realized.

"Kyle..."

"Let me see the bottom of your feet."

Shaking her head, brushing her damp hair from her eyes, she staggered backwards.

"What? Why?"

Backing her up against the steps, he gently lowered her down, lifting her foot in the air.

His eyes widened, the bottom of her feet were dirty, there was no denying it now.

Kyle didn't understand, couldn't put it into words, there was no way to describe what he felt, he only knew that what they shared wasn't from any world he knew, it was almost as if it was … _magic._

But that was impossible, a myth, long tales told to gain money from tourists, it wasn't real.

Slowly he drifted his hand over her cheek, brushing his thumb over her bottom lip, recalling her beneath him as they made love.

Raising his voice over the pounding rain he made his passionate plea known, there was no room for arguments or debates, it was clear he wasn't walking away from her, he couldn't.

"I-It's okay, you don't have to say anything. I don't care. Maybe we'll never know what happened, all that matters is that on some level it was real. We _were._.. together."

Blinking several times against the driving rain, she nodded, at least agreeing to the latter, unable to admit to anything else just yet.

"I just had to see you. I had to tell you Zoe, face to face, so you know what I'm saying is true."

The windows to the impressive Antebellum mansion were full, young witches and old, a silent butler and the rest of the help were powerless to ignore the romantic scene playing out before them.

"I don't care about who or what it is that's pulling you away from me. You have to trust me, I know we belong together. I've never been so sure of anything in my life Zoe. I-I'm... falling... in love with you."

She opened her mouth to speak, but he took her lips instead in a searing kiss that left the onlookers inside holding their breath with envy.

Quickly forgetting whatever it was she was going to say, she melted into him, kissing him back with a fervor that spoke volumes.

Soon she would have no choice but to tell him the truth, they both would have to disclose secrets full of darkness and despair, but for now, beneath the rain, they were one, silently pledging to be together, no matter the consequences, no matter the cost.

 **TBC**

 _ **zkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkz**_

 _ **DinahRay thank you, seriously, for everything :)**_

 _ **Gwenyth Taylor Plunkett, I liked your suggestion, changed it to MA, thanks :)**_

 _ **Chris P.C. I think you're right Chris, Kyle would be fine with it, I suspect, thank you! :)**_

 _ **Stephycats7785, thank you so much, happy you're here :)**_

 _ **(lyrics from Sara, by Fleetwood Mac, for Gwenyth :) )**_

 _ **Author's Note:**_

 _ **Just to be clear, because I have a tendency for being vague on important clues ...**_

 _ **This was just a dream, it's wasn't real, although they shared the same dream, that still all it was.**_

 ** _Cordelia had a hand in this spell of their 'shared dream', she had no control over what would happen, just that they'd shared the experience of what would naturally occur._**

 ** _If you remember back in the green house there were magnolia flowers blooming around Zoe and Cordelia, also in the dream Kyle smelled the strong scent of magnolias on her skin._**

 ** _It was because of the spell that they both woke with evidence of the dream, nothing more._**

 ** _Oh and yes, in case you missed it, Cordelia started the storm and sent the Raven that distracted his mother so he could escape, she's going to do her best to intervene and help Kyle._**

 ** _Sorry if I'm stating the obvious, it's late now and I'm a little out of it from re-writing this a million times._**


	5. Sky and Earth

**_Sky and Earth_**

 _ **All your life you've never seen a woman taken by the wind,**_

 _ **would you stay if she promised you heaven…**_

It had been a week since their shared dream, an erotic walk in time and space that sent them both to a place between worlds, a realm made of magic and wonder, of secrets and spells.

Kyle was inundated with thoughts of Zoe, the scent of magnolias from that night was forever imprinted on his skin, in every breath he took.

She was the glimmer of hope he had prayed for since he was a child, an answer to endless pleas from a place of horror and pain too insidious and shameful to share with anyone.

Before her he was drowning in the depths of loneliness, of the twisted evil manipulation of a mother too sick for the written word.

Doing his best he tried to concentrate on his classes, and tutoring sessions that filled his days, but it was an endless struggle, a losing battle to forget the beauty found in her arms, in the perfection of her kiss, the soft curves of her body that would be forever burned within his mind and heart.

Zoe wasn't fairing much better, her time, although packed with academic studies and courses of otherworldly, the magical kind, felt herself always being pulled, drawn back … to him, to her Kyle.

Cordelia's guidance and supportive words helped, but Zoe knew without doubt or hesitation that she had fallen, so deep and far that there would be no returning to the life she knew before.

Kyle had somehow managed to dull the agonizing pain and guilt left by Charlie's memory, a feat she never believed possible.

It wasn't that she had forgotten, that would never happen, but with Kyle she felt that same hope, something to hold onto, a belief that there still remained the possibility that she could love and be loved in return.

Between their workload and the challenges that his mother brought, it wasn't possible for them to see each other until Saturday night, exactly a week since their enchanted night together in a dream that felt unbelievably real.

Sliding down in the bathtub surrounded by white flickering candles, Zoe drifted her fingertips over her skin, soft and silky from floating magnolia petals that wavered in the steamy water around her.

In just an hour she'd see him again, touch him, taste his kiss, hear the velvet tone of his voice surrounding her, warming her body like a summer breeze.

She knew he'd have questions, that sooner or later he would insist on answers to the mystery surrounding that mystical night where they came together as one, but in reality couldn't have been farther apart.

All week this frightened her, the thought of scaring him away, of losing him to an unthinkable world he knew nothing about, and most likely could never allow himself to believe in.

But tonight, _this_ night as she stood from her bath, watching water droplets slip down her body, she somehow knew it would all be alright, that he was special, different, that he would accept her, love her for who and what she was.

Pulling up to the southern mansion Kyle stood staring up at her window as the stars lingered above flickering with jealous intent over the burgeoning love below, a true gift from the goddesses that was as rare and mythical as the ancient love stories that had been passed down from the ages.

With a coy smile chased across her knowing face, Cordelia opened the front doors as Zoe stepped out onto the stone path leading to the gate that separated them.

His body tensed as memories of making love to her in their dream flashed rapidly behind his black penetrating eyes.

She was beyond beautiful, adorned in a plain black dress that formed to her body flaring out along her ankles revealing her signature sneakers.

Her honey blonde hair was silky straight parted down the middle framing her blushed cheeks and pale pink lips.

Her eyes were smokey and seductive, only adding to the mystery that seemed to rise around her.

Queenie had insisted on a little sex appeal helping her along with her eye shadow, while Madison stood arms folded mocking Zoe the entire time she was getting ready.

It was only when Nan strolled by her conveniently to remind her that in this life and the next she had no chance of ever having him, that his heart would always belong to Zoe.

Barking at Nan to 'get the fuck out of her head' Madison stomped away furious, it was clear she wasn't used to not getting what she wanted.

Zoe's fears were for not obviously as Kyle stood mesmerized, unable to move, his dark eyes fixated on her much as they were the first time he saw her.

It was all he could to do to remember to breathe, it was as if the world had faded away leaving just her in all her glory to race his heart and heat his skin like fire.

With a bashful exchange of glances he held the door open for her as she slid into his car.

Shutting the door he stood momentarily closing his eyes, breathing in the unmistakable scent of her, of the wild magnolias that drifted all around her invading his senses, drawing him in.

Nodding with confident resolution Cordelia made her way back inside the mansion dashing down into her greenhouse, her place of solitude and peace to work on the spell that would end the tragedy that had befallen Zoe.

As they drove away jealous narrowing eyes went unseen from inside a small oval attic window as Madison gnashed her teeth, seething with hatred.

Her fingernails dug into a spell book of black magic forbidden from the students, kept hidden, secure within a locked safe, or so Cordelia thought.

 **zKz**

Their night together started with a walk hand in hand through the garden district, where glowing lanterns lit age old cobblestone streets lined with overlapping hovering oak trees, and lacy wrought iron fences that bordered romantic mansions that were resurrected decades before either of them were born.

Stealing sheepish glances towards her Kyle couldn't help but be in awe of her, of the beauty that she was clearly unaware of, of her unabashed opinions and thoughts that flowed through a stream of conversation that never faltered.

After eating at an _off the beaten_ _path_ creole diner, he couldn't help showing her some of the historical sights that he was sure would peak her interest.

Strolling through famous Jackson Square she stopped just short of the impressive statue of President Jackson rising up on his stallion in front of the breathtaking St Louis Cathedral.

Circling the bronze sculpture she couldn't help but shiver with disdain thinking that such a monster was being revered as a hero, shaking her head she couldn't hold her feelings back.

"I don't understand, he was pure evil, the President that was responsible for the trail of tears, the massacre of thousands of Native of Americans only to make way for plantations and slavery... and he's being celebrated, it makes me sick."

Nodding in a agreement he told her of the recent vote to tear down several monuments that depict men whose influence and direct responsibility aided in atrocities such as slavery and the genocide of the American Indians, such as Jackson.

"Hopefully he'll be the next to go, I know that's what our Mayor is fighting for, unfortunately there are many that believe that these men, especially Jackson, are an important part of New Orleans history, no matter how dark that may be."

Shaking her head she whispered quietly blown away by such thoughts.

"I know, it's not what I believe, but hopefully change will continue to happen."

Lowering his head he was moved that she felt so strongly about something that most people just took for granted.

She was just proving once again now special she was, how deeply passionate she felt about injustices of the world that effected him just as strongly, she was unlike any girl he had ever known.

"This was a mistake, I really am sorry, I shouldn't have taken you there, I just thought the St Louis Cathedral at night, all lit up was pretty, something to see, but I have a better idea, one I think you'll really like."

Looking up at him, feeling terrible that she had somehow made him feel bad she pulled him close, holding his hand tight.

"The architecture, the Cathedral, it _was_ really beautiful, and i'm so happy you brought me there... sometimes I just get … I don't know too intense, i tend to run my mouth off too much, at least that's what my mother back home used to say all the time. I really am sorry Kyle."

Halting quickly he turned her towards him, holding her shoulders squarely, making sure she understood him.

"Don't ever apologize for how you feel Zoe, you're intelligent and spirited, you care, there's nothing wrong with that, in fact those are the people that change the world for the better... which i have no doubt that's exactly what you'll do someday."

Flustered by his endearing words she rose up on her toes becoming flush with his body to gently press her lips to his mouth, something she had been wanting to do all night.

"Why are you so nice to me?"

Her whispered words were vulnerable, raw in their honesty, and clearly from the heart, as was his response.

"You already know the answer to that, I think you've known from the beginning Zoe."

Cradling her face with his hands he deepened their kiss, causing them both to drift into a state of quickened breath and heated skin, leading them down a path she knew they could not go.

Realizing this from some far off voice pulsating in her mind she reluctantly pulled away to his surprise.

Shrugging it off realizing that they were out in the open, and not in a place were they could be close, he smiled softly brushing his thumb along her bottom lip affectionately.

"Sorry, I got carried away, come with me, I have a surprise for you."

Her gut twisted as she forced a smile knowing she wouldn't be able to hold off the truth for much longer, soon he would know of her curse, and exactly what that meant for them.

 **zKz**

It was at least a twenty minute ride before they finally turned off on a dirt road heavily hidden by trees and bushes.

After a few minutes Kyle pulled over down in a ravine making sure that the police or any nosy locals would find them.

Opening the door for her he pressed his finger to his lips to signal for her to be quiet.

Holding her hand he led her through a narrow trail that eventually led to a tall arched rusted iron gate.

Using the light from his cell phone he looked around carefully until he was satisfied that they were alone.

Whispering softly he brushed his lips to her ear describing where he had taken her.

"They call the cemeteries in Orleans the cities of the dead, St Louis is the most famous, but this one is my favorite."

Startled at first that he would take her to such a place, she eventually understood his love for the beauty that surrounded them as he led them through the towering tombs and magnificent statues.

"We're close to where I grew up, down by the ninth ward, there's a line of row houses just over that ridge of trees. This is one of the oldest cemeteries, with some graves marked as far back as the 1800's."

Along the dark bayou and the eerie wavering spanish moss of low hanging cypress trees, Zoe clung tight to Kyle, not out of fear but of wonder.

Finally making it to his destination, the center of the dead, where four large angels with wide spread wings loomed protectively over rows of weathered ancient crypts, he stopped to retrieve a dufflebag from behind one of the mausoleums.

Pulling out a blanket he laid it neatly on the ground before tenderly taking her hand lowering them both down.

While placing white candles in a circle all around them, Kyle took a leap of faith by opening his heart and telling her at least some of what his life was like.

"After my father left... I was confused, lost... nothing made sense, things changed, for the worse, far worse than I could have ever imagined... it was like a nightmare that I couldn't wake up from. When I couldn't take it anymore... when I felt trapped, alone ... sometimes I'd run here to escape... to hide..."

Remembering Cordelia describing the horrors he faced, the hell in which in lived, Zoe leaned closer placing her hand compassionately on his thigh.

" _Hide_? Hide from who? _Please_ ... go on Kyle, I want you to know that you can tell me anything, that I would never judge you. You need to know that there is nothing you could say that would ever change the way I feel for you."

Keeping his head down, his telling, dark, expressive eyes away from her, he recoiled slightly thinking he had said too much, that no one, not even someone as special as Zoe could ever understand the ugliness and shame that twisted his gut.

Searching for a lighter, desperate to change the subject, he pointed out all the hundreds of tall religious candles that had been lit many times over, and the merited of dried flowers laid lovingly over the graves of ones that would be forever missed.

"People still come to pay their respect, to show their love, even for those who have been gone long before their birth. Family is very precious here, sometimes the entire place is filled with tiny flames, it's beautiful, it's like the sky is upside down, and the stars are all around you. It doesn't happen often, but when it does... it feels like heaven, like nothing bad can happen."

Lost in him, in the sweet whisper of his voice, in the vulnerable beautiful glint in his eyes that were as dark as the night itself, she forgot herself, just for a moment.

Moving towards him without thought, acting purely on emotion, Zoe straddled his thighs, pressing his back almost forcefully against the cold concrete crypt.

His expression turned quickly from shock to lust as he captured her mouth, knotting his fingers around her silky hair bringing her body closer, sinking her down against his already hard erection.

Breaking away from her lips, desperate to taste more of her, he drifted his mouth along her graceful neck while searching for the hem of her dress.

Breathlessly he spoke her name in a shuddered whisper, filled with clear intentions of what he so desperately needed.

"Zoe..."

Caught up in pleasures too explosive to put into words she moved along with him shoving her palms roughly against the rising tomb.

Feeling his fingertips slide like feathers along her thighs, she let out a low soft moan that sent him reeling.

The urge to give in, to relinquish what little control she was holding onto was almost overwhelming.

It was then that she heard that far off voice, that distant echo calling out to her, warning her of days past, of dangers that lurked in the very depths of her soul.

With great urgency she pushed him away while quickly backing up to the edge of the blanket, gasping for air, struck by how carelessly she had been.

Confused, full of concern for her, Kyle did his best to calm himself.

Giving her time, watching intently as she pulled her knees up to her chest, he tentatively, slowly, moved beside her, clearly as sign of support and comfort.

Horrified it struck him suddenly that all her trepidation, her fear of getting close, had everything to do with him, and the twisted sickness that was his life.

He could barely form the words, shaky and halting he spoke his greatest fears as his head hung down too ashamed to look at her.

"Is it me? Am I doing something wrong? Was I too... _forceful_ , did I hurt you?"

Covering her face, mortified that she had managed to cause him even more pain, tears stung her eyes, deep inside she knew the time had come, she couldn't hold off telling him any longer.

Her voice broke as she gently placed her hand on his shoulder, causing him to look up at her cautiously through blonde waves that fell haphazardly across his forehead.

"Kyle I promise you.. it's not you... it has nothing to do with you... I'm so sorry... I never should've..."

Rocking back and forth she struggled searching for a way to tell him, for some way to make him understand.

Over and over in her mind silently she thought of all the ways to say it, but nothing felt right, just the thought of him turning away from her, of losing him was too much to bear.

It was too much, a risk too great, but she couldn't avoid it any longer, she cared for him too much to lie, he deserved to know, if only she knew how.

Running his fingers through her hair, he sweetly wrapped the ends around his fingers, gently reminding her of what they had already shared.

"Zoe, I know what happened between us that night wasn't a coincidence, what it was I have no explanation, but what I do know in my heart, in my very being … is that in some way, in a very tangible way… it was real and I know that you believe that too. On some level, in some realm between dreams and reality, _we_... we made love."

Taking a deep breath he searched for his lighter, thinking that she would feel more comfortable if the candles were lit, as apposed to being in the dark so they could talk.

Watching him fumble around for the lighter, knowing that he was trying everything he could to relieve any pressure she may have felt in the moment it suddenly occurred to her that she was going about this all wrong.

Reaching out she stilled his hands, causing him pause hoping that she didn't want to leave.

"Kyle, I need to show you something… it will explain what we both felt. Just please don't be afraid, I promise, you have nothing to fear."

His black eyes widened watching her intently as she closed her eyes while raising her hands up to the star filled sky.

Within seconds warm winds blew in from seemingly nowhere lifting her soft hair away from her face wildly up around her bare shoulders.

Mouthing silent words she quickly lifted her finger tips up to the heavens instantly igniting all the flames to the candles that surrounded them, including the ones placed by the loved ones long ago.

It was just as he described, the sky and Earth in reverse as hundreds of flickering stars wavering in the wind.

Falling back on his palms his pulse raced at a furious pace, his mind was spinning for a logical reason for what he was seeing.

"Z-Zoe...what? I mean … how?"

Breathless she stared into his wide eyes hopeful that he would be open to a world unknown to most, and guarded vehemently by the chosen few.

"The rumors you've heard… about my school, where I live, they're true… it's not a finishing school for girls Kyle."

Shaking his head in disbelief he looked around at the rising flames scattered around him as far as the eye could see.

"But ...Zoe… that's impossible… that would mean… it would mean that you're a … that you're…"

Whispering the word she knew he could not speak, she leaned close to him gently brushing her lips to his breathing out her identity, one she still was working hard to accept.

"A witch."

 _ **zkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzk**_

 _ **Gwenyth Taylor Plunkett, Dinah, GoDrinkPinesol, anonymouscsifan, Stephycats, Chris P.C., Guest 101, Lord Asmodeus, La Melodie, belle'sdarkangel, wow, seriously thank you so much for these lovely replies, so happy you are liking this little story so far :) lots of rough times for me, I sincerely apologize for the long wait.**_

 _ **Lyrics from Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac**_


	6. Witch

_**She is like a cat in the dark**_

 _ **And then she is the darkness**_

 _ **She rules her life like a fine skylark**_

 _ **And when the sky is starless ...**_

 _ **Witch**_

The word filled with supernatural, fairy tale implications, reverberated, echoing like soft ripples along secret winds, swaying hundreds of candles, burning with amber flames back and forth in a dance passed down from the ages.

It was as if they were being controlled by her fingertips that delicately drifted in the air, like a conductor influencing his musicians in a hypnotic moving symphony.

Her lips had gone from talking to brushing against his mouth seductively, making his head spin even more.

His brain struggled to keep control, tethering itself to logic, reason, what he knew to be true.

Amidst the dreamlike influence she was having over him, which in of itself felt as though he was floating weightless with her, consumed by her beauty, her touch, her everything, he managed to keep a tenuous grip on reality.

The possibilities seemed as ridiculous as the alternative itself, but still they came one by one as he reached for a reasonable explanation.

He was drugged at the diner, sick, hallucinating, or it was just a trick of the light from some very strong southern winds that caused a tornado effect of air that somehow ignited the candles all at once.

Distracted away from his thoughts as she moved closer, he nearly gave in, not caring as much as the scent of magnolias once again enveloped his senses.

He was immediately brought back to their shared dream, making love to her in a field of wildflowers, an experience such as this one, was void of explanation, but he knew in his heart to be true.

Sighing with a feeling of blissful elation, breathing her in as her tentative tender kiss deepened, he decided didn't care.

A part of him just wanted to surrender, for once, let go, to not be the responsible one, cautiously protecting everyone around him.

She was an unexplainable force of nature, one that lifted him from the depths of a misery that he had grown to think of as a doomed life for which there was no escape,

It was then that the palms of her hands slowly grazed over his knees to rest on his thighs as they continued to embrace.

He experienced an incredible sense of warmth on his skin, piercing through his jeans, heating his entire body in a way that left him unable to hide her influence over him.

Overwhelmed by what was happening, his brain slammed into gear, snapping him out of the dizzying haze of something that wasn't real, that could not be true.

It all came into sharp focus, how stupid he was not to think of this before, it was just a prank, an elaborate stunt she had played on him for some unknown reason, only problem was she had no idea he was taking her to the cemetery.

She couldn't have possibly known, there was no set up, no trick, nothing to link her to the phenomenon of hundreds of candles igniting at once producing a light show that was simply magical.

He never wanted it to end, just being close with her, sharing whatever this was felt like a much needed break from the forced maturity that had been thrust upon him since his father abandoned him.

Not to mention the horrors that awaited him at home, Zoe was truly a gift, an answer to a prayer when he thought no one listening.

Still it gnawed at him hard as he tried to push it away. his analytical brain wouldn't let it go.

Why would she feel the need to lie, to play into such an antiquated juvenile trap after all the intense romantic moments they had shared that transcended any love story he had ever heard of before.

A sorority hazing, he thought. Maybe this was some bizarre initiation she felt she had to succumb to in order to make peace with some of the more shallow, bitches that were enrolled, such as Madison.

Meeting her, he knew someone like Zoe would be fresh meat for a piranha such as that washed up actress who seethed jealousy and hatred towards just about everybody.

That must've been it, everything was starting to make sense, they had been followed, hence the arya of strange whispers surrounding them.

They had somehow set the candles ablaze and hid, feeling humiliated, Kyle shrunk inside, his trust broken.

Although he understood what it must be like for her to be judged, forced into belonging, still he couldn't help but be surprised that she would do this to him.

The back and forth hurricane of emotions were too much for him, to suffer this kind of manipulation felt all too familiar, and for it to come at the hand of Zoe made it all that more painful.

Sensing a change in him, her heart dropped as he slowly pulled away.

It didn't take someone with the power of telepathy, like Nan, to know what was happening, he didn't believe her, what was worse, he was visibly hurt.

He couldn't help but lift his dark gaze to her, conveying a profound sadness that nearly leveled her.

Looking wide eyed and fearful, already missing his touch, a warmth that only Kyle could provide, she reeled inside knowing he was slipping away.

Her silence hinted of insecure anticipation, she was holding her breath, as if afraid to speak, or to hear him utter a word of disappointment that had colored his beautiful face.

Zoe knew that somehow she had to push forward, this was a secret she no longer wanted or could keep from him, she couldn't bear losing him, not now, not after their dream in the field of wildflowers.

Her blonde hair flew wildly around her, as Spanish moss trees bowed it's branches against the strength of the wind, as if playing their own part in this revelation of sorts.

Still locked on her eyes, his eyebrows furrowed with confusion as once again alternating whispers lifted in the mysterious wind.

This time it was different, more ethereal, ghostly, this wasn't the work of a collective few teenage girls, these were one of many, coming from all around, sometimes close to his ear, or at a distance, from above and below.

Running out of time, Zoe sweetly spoke while taking his hands to mirror her own, placing them on her thighs as they sat close with their legs crossed almost intertwined.

Mystified by her, now not knowing what to think, he went along with it, all the while keeping his stare locked on her.

"Kyle, what I told you... was true."

Tilting his head to the side, marveling at the moon's reflection in her whiskey glazed eyes, he sighed not knowing what to think, or if it really mattered, as long as she was with him.

Taking a deep breath, he parted his lips ready to speak until he was halted by her own voice once again.

"Look around you Kyle, just … don't. let. go."

Keeping his palms resting on her thighs, he did as she asked, as if he already believed her completely without question.

"Zoe!"

A breathy barely audible release of her name was all he could manage as they hovered twenty feet above the ground.

He was shaking now, his gaze scanning the span of the old cemetery and beyond, watching as the lights far away from the city sparkled like diamonds.

Wrapping his hands tightly around her thighs, suddenly aware of the danger he would be in if they were to fall, he couldn't help but look around in awe of the world from this view, so far above his pain that awaited him below.

Over her shoulder he could see the house that he ran from so many times, it looked so small, so insignificant.

He pictured himself as a child running as fast as his legs would carry him, running till his muscles ached, and his lungs burned, running away from _her_ , from the sin that stained his heart and tainted his soul, to what degree he did not know.

Fear, sorrow, deep and endless, constricting, imprisoning the light behind his eyes was all too evident, it nearly broke her heart.

Believing it was her revelation that brought this on, Zoe slid her hands further up, regaining his attention, causing him to expel a shameful breath feeling her touch.

Worried, she leaned in brushing her mouth to his ear, racing unsuspecting chills up his spine.

"It's okay, I've got you… there's no reason to be afraid."

Darting his eyes along the landscape around them the word 'afraid' echoed in his head.

He was 'afraid' at the sound of his bedroom door opening at night, of showering in a bathroom where the locks had been removed, he was 'afraid' of what should be the most comforting touch in the world, that was anything but.

The word 'afraid' held it's own personal meaning for him, it could never in any possible way could attach itself to Zoe, no matter what unknown powers she wielded.

Gently lowering them back to the blanket splayed out on the ground nestled in the dewy grass, he gasped sharply realizing he had been holding his breath unconsciously.

Speaking in octaves lower than his usual charming, carefree self he showed to the world, he stared unsettling into her, past the exterior shell that we all hide behind, straight to her core.

"I know what fear is Zoe… it's not _this_ … and it is definitely... not _you._ "

Her stomach twisted knowing just how wrong he was, just how dangerous she could be, how death loomed like a silent killer between her thighs, ever present, lying in wait for those you dare come inside.

All at once the candles extinguished leaving just the light of the moon and the stars shining down on them to show the way.

A million questions raced through his mind, everything he thought to be true all at once was eviscerated, blow to the wind like ashes, but all he really cared about was her.

"Help me to understand… what does this all mean Zoe? Have you always known?"

Shaking her head a veil of deep sadness shadowed her face that looked down at the ground shamefully.

"Something… _happened_ , back home. Something bad, unforgivable, a horrific _event_ that I was responsible for."

To even speak of it, especially to him tore at her, it made it real, cementing it in the reality of her life forever.

"It wasn't intentional, I had no idea what was happening. I didn't know the truth of what I was."

Her voice was trembling now, believing he would run, not blaming him if he did.

"The very next day I was sent here."

To accept her, the darkest part of her, seemed like an impossible request, but to walk away from him without trying would be a death of a different kind, she didn't have a choice.

He had taken that away the moment he smiled at her.

Taking her hand in his, he caressed the inside of her palm with his thumb lightly in continuous figure eights.

"Zoe, what happened back home?"

Her lips parted and closed in an attempt to speak as intense anxiety stormed inside her evoking powers she had yet learned how to control.

The ground beneath them began to vibrate, the leaves on the trees rustled as if a force were shaking the branches, ravens flew in circles overhead screeching loudly before landing upon the tombs, flapping their large black wings.

" _Kyle_ … if I tell you... I could lose you..."

Pained by her distress he lunged forward taking her face in his gentle hands before pulling her onto his lap.

Wrapping his arms around her he whispered against her ear, knowing that whatever she could say would never compare to the evil inside of him.

"Zoe, you have me. There is nothing you could ever say that would cause me to turn away from you… _nothing._ "

Silent tears welled in her eyes, it was more than he could take, he didn't care what she did, all he wanted was to soothe her, to take it all away.

Lying her down, unnerved by the supernatural spectacle happening all around him, Kyle kissed her tears away.

Sweeping his mouth along the nape of her neck, his hand ventured tenderly along the curves of her body.

"Let me love you, let me take it all away Zoe."

Sinking into the earth, melting beneath his body as he shifted his weight between her thighs, she nearly forgot herself.

Taken far away by a wave of pleasure too immense to put into words, under the weight of the blackest, soulful eyes that blanketed her completely in acceptance and love, she remained recklessly quiet.

A soft moan lifted from her mouth as she looked up into a now starless sky, void of the hovering moon that had been with them all night.

Feeling the soft pads of his fingertips drift along her skin, her vision blurred as she clutched his tee shirt, twisting the fabric around her fist to pull him closer.

In that moment she saw him in the blackness, in the heavens above her head, in the strange absence of the moon and stars.

It was Charlie, screaming, blood everywhere, his body convulsing in agony.

 **"Wait!"**

Breathless, panting heavily, she pressed her hands upon Kyle's chest, pushing him away before scooting out from beneath him cornering herself against a concrete mausoleum.

Shivering from being so close to her, he backed away worried, seeing the anguish in her wide eyes.

"K-Kyle, there's something I have to tell you."

 ** _Kzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkz_**

 ** _Thank you so much, belle'sdarkangel, Chris P.C., La Melodie, Dinah, Gwenyth, Guest 101, and mariahernandezperez26, so appreciate your lovely reviews!_**

 _ **Lyrics from Rhiannon by Fleetwood Mac**_

 _ **Reviews are deeply appreciated :)**_


	7. Velvet petals

_**And he was just like a great dark wing**_

 _ **Within the wings of a storm**_

 _ **I think I had met my match, he was singing ...**_

 **Velvet petals**

Balled up in the fetal position, she raised her hands up, damning herself for allowing him to get so close, for being so careless.

Approaching her cautiously, as if she were a trapped frightened animal, his sympathetic heart broke for her.

Kyle above all people understood shame, he recognized it in her eyes, deep and forever, an endless abyss of self loathing that no one could hope to understand.

Moving to sit beside her slowly, he looked down at the ground, away from her wide stare, figuring that it might be easier for her to tell him her secret this way.

Her voice sounded distant, resolved, she was convinced that she was going to lose him.

"You'll never look at me the same way again."

Still trying to wrap his head around the fact that he was just hovering twenty feet above the ground by the her sheer will, his main focus was of the obvious pain and distress she was feeling.

Not yet willing to divulge the nightmare that he had been living in for years, but still feeling an overwhelming need to comfort her, Kyle softened his voice to that of a breathy whisper.

"Zoe, whatever it is, whatever horrible thing you think you've done, I promise you can tell me, I promise not to judge you. I know what it is to feel that way, to think that no one would ever understand, to feel alone."

A rush of wind came upon them suddenly rustling the leaves above clearing her mind, reminding her that he too was suffering. Remembering Cordelia telling her of his hellish life, one that she couldn't possibly fathom, this somehow gave her the strength to let it out.

She felt so small, bracing for his rejection, his ultimate look of repulsion.

"Back home… I had a boyfriend. It was nothing like what we share, it was before I knew what I was, when all I had to worry about was keeping my grades up, and trying not to break curfew. It was when I thought I was a normal teenage girl."

Dealing with a sting of jealousy that came with the word 'boyfriend', Kyle encouraged her to continue, still looking away, giving her the space she needed.

Covering her face, she whispered through her fingers, humiliated, devastated.

"I brought him to my house, knowing we'd be alone. I was a virgin, and I was curious, maybe even anxious to get it over with."

"That's perfectly normal Zoe."

"Maybe so, but what happened, because of me, was anything but normal."

Concerned covered his face as he gently pulled her hands away from her eyes.

"Did he hurt you?"

Shaking her head she lifted her eyes forcing herself to face him.

"No, I hurt him… I didn't know I could, I had no idea what was happening."

Confused, Kyle Leaned his flaxen head against the concrete tomb, holding both her hands in his, he hung on her every word.

"We had barely begun when he suddenly started convulsing, I thought he was having some type of seizure, but then blood started pouring out from his nose, eyes, mouth… he was dying, painfully, horrifically, and all I could do was watch."

Standing, unable to be close to him when she revealed the rest, she faced away from him to stare at the moon that was once again lighting up the night sky.

"After the funeral, people from the coven came in and physically took me away, my mother kept apologizing, told me she was hoping it would skip a generation. On the train coming here, to New Orleans, to join a school for young witches is how I was found out what I was, about the curse, my curse."

Trying so hard to understand, Kyle watched her fold within herself, wrapping her arms tight around her waist, lowering her head to the ground.

"I'm lethal, deadly in fact. What lies between my thighs, is poison, ripping the life from anyone who … _. well,_ I think you know what I mean. We can't ever have sex, I can never… _give_ that to you, never share that… part of me."

Speechless, Kyle slowly worked to understand the somewhat vague explanation she laid out before him.

Standing, walking close, flush against her back, he held her bringing his mouth close to her ear.

"I'm so sorry Zoe, I can't even begin to imagine what you've been through, and I'm not going to pretend that I may need a little time to wrap my head around all this… "

Staring out blankly into the night, tears welled in her eyes.

"But we can still be friends… Kyle - "

"No, Zoe, I don't want to be just your friend. I love you. There is more than one way for me to show you that love, that is if you'll let me. Please Zoe, let me love you."

With anyone else the news of her being a witch, something of fairy tales and myths, would be enough to send them running for the hills, even someone who is willing to believe, who knows such things to be real, would vanish upon hearing what lurked between her supple thighs, but Kyle wasn't like every other guy, and he wasn't running.

In disbelief, thinking he truly didn't understand the danger, the real implications of what a relationship with her would mean, she shook her head, searching for her cell.

"You say this now, but eventually you will miss what is normal, what every human craves, we need to be realistic, honest with each other, this can only end one way. In time I won't be enough, you'll just move on, you're perfect, no girl would turn you away, but I already miss you. If we continue, it will only hurt more. We need to end this now before it goes any further."

His head was spinning, it was all too much to take in at once.

Perfect, she thought he was perfect.

He was dying inside to tell her just how wrong she was, to describe how disgusting and twisted his life had become. How royally fucked up he was, how all this time he was worried about how he would _be_ with _her_. Worried that his years of abuse would hinder him in some way. That intimacy would be too hard, too painful for him, that he was the one that would let her down, deprive her of her needs.

All he knew in this moment, standing there in the cemetery, that for so long had been his place of solace, of peace, he couldn't let her go.

But this night had proved to be too exhausting for her, reliving Charlie's death, suffering through the telling of her secret drained her emotionally and physically.

"Please Kyle, just take me home."

 **zKz**

The ride home was deafeningly silent, the thought of never seeing her again was something he couldn't handle. He had only just found her, only just began to fall in love. To let her go, to return back to his normal life lived in loneliness and fear was something he just couldn't accept.

Pulling up the southern mansion he reached for her hand as she went to step out of his car.

"Please Zoe, give me a chance, we can make this work… you just have to trust me."

Shaking her head, she gazed back at him, lost as to how a soul as kind as his could exist is this ugly world.

"Listen to you, thinking of me… Kyle I'll never be able to give you want, you deserve, what you need, don't you understand?"

Moving close, pressing his forehead to hers, Kyle rasped lowly, seductively so that she would understand.

" _You_ are what I need. Please, have faith in me, Give me a chance to prove myself to you."

Hesitating for a moment, lost in the heavenly beauty of him, she wanted nothing more than to take that leap of faith, to risk her heart, to risk everything to be with him.

Quietly she thought back to their dream, to the possibilities that he spoke of.

Hearing her answer, it was as if someone else had spoken, as if she were a third person sitting in the car observing.

"Okay Kyle. We can try."

 **zKz**

That night he laid in bed searching the internet, weeding out all the ridiculous and the blatant myths about witches, concentrating on the history, and persecution of covens around the world.

He imaged the horror of what she experienced, the guilt she carried that was not her own.

Planning their next night together came easily, soon he fell asleep with thoughts of gardenias, and long golden hair, and eyes full of magic and mystery.

 **zKz**

Pulling the covers off of him, his mother woke him sitting close, placing her hand just over the waistband of his sweatpants.

"Wake up sleepy head, I feel like I haven't seen you in weeks."

His body tensed immediately reaching for his blankets unsuccessfully.

Still trying to wake up he found himself trapped as she loomed over him, her eyes narrowing suspiciously.

"Where were you last night anyway, I waited up, thought we could watch an old movie and eat nachos like we used to … that is when you still cared enough to be with me. It's not like life wasn't lonely enough before, but now since all these disappearin' acts I feel you don't want to be around me anymore, like you're avoiding me or somethin'."

Kyle threw his legs over the other side of the bed, facing away from her, pulling his pillow over his bare stomach, fighting familiar guilt rising in his belly.

Leaning over she picked up his clothes that he had thrown on the floor the night before, bringing them to her nose.

Staring at the cardboard taped to the broken window that the raven pecked its way through, he suddenly found himself wondering if that too wasn't something supernatural, other worldly.

Crinkling her nose Kyle's mother threw his clothes across the room with disgust.

Climbing on the bed she ran her hands up the planks of his strong back resting her chin upon his shoulder, her breath smelling of cigarettes, and stale coffee.

"Hmm, your clothes smell like gardenias, like your room had before. Kyle, what are you hiding from me?"

Nervous, Kyle never was able to lie to his mother, she could always see right through him, as if he were glass.

"Nothing… I don't know what you mean."

His voice was small, like a child, his pulse was racing.

"I think you do."

Skimming his neck with her mouth, she took a deep breath in, detecting what she already knew to be true.

Inside he was screaming. He should've taken a shower when he came home, he knew better, on top of that he forgot to throw his clothes in the wash. He fucked up and he was going to pay.

"Who is she?"

He started to get up from the bed, but was quickly pulled back down by his unusually strong mother.

"Yeah, you're not going anywhere until we talk about this."

Shaking his head like a little boy, staring at the ground he sighed shakily.

"Mom, there's nothing to talk about."

"You're lyin', she's all over you, I can smell it."

Running her hands under the pillow, she slid her hands around his waist pressing her body against his back.

"You listen to me now son, you are **my** boy, it's been me and you all these years, no one is going to take that away from me!"

Humming disturbingly she lowered her hand over his flaccid cock.

Tears rushed to his eyes, he felt sick, he couldn't do it, not again, not after everything with Zoe.

Wrenching her arm away he ran to the bathroom, "I'm gonna be sick."

Sitting back, shocked, pissed, angry as fuck, realizing his secret little bitch had everything to do with this uncharacteristic reaction, she vowed to end it between them, by any means necessary.

Strolling to the bathroom, that was void of a lock, she pushed open the door to find him slung over the toilet, his eyes closed, praying that she would just leave.

"Ma, I don't feel good, I think I ate some bad craw fish last night. Please, I gotta get back to school, I have a big test today, I gotta get ready. There is no girl, those friggin flowers grow everywhere, I probably ran through them with the guys and didn't even realize it."

Glaring down at him, clicking her teeth as if mulling over his weak explanation, she sighed.

Stepping over him she turned the shower on taking her place back in the doorway with her arms crossed.

"So go ahead, get ready."

Wiping the vomit from his chin he stood slowly, looking down feeling her hard stare.

Just like countless times before he turned away from her, shoving his sweatpants and boxers down to the floor before quickly stepping in the shower pulling the curtain closed.

Pressing his forehead against cool blue tile he trembled inside, his gut twisting in knots, waiting for the inevitable.

Squeezing his eyes shut he heard the rings of the curtain slowly slide across the rod.

"Shhh, Kyle… let momma make you feel better."

 **zKz**

Busying himself with school all day, while his mind kept reverting back to Zoe, Kyle pushed past the morning, a true survivor he put a mask of a happy go lucky college frat boy on and did what he had to do, as always.

His brothers always rallied around him, wanting to be near his hysterical sense of humor, that made even the most mundane days seem fun.

Deciding to bring his clothes with him and shower at the dorm to avoid going home, Kyle sent him mother a text, saying that he'd be a party, some hazing ritual for the freshmen.

Hearing nothing back sent off a little warning bell in the back of his head, but he chose to ignore it, he was too excited to see Zoe, already missing her.

She had invited him to the mansion, feeling bad that every time they went out, he was spending money that he didn't have.

It didn't hurt that no one was going to be home. Queenie, Nan, and Cordiella were spending the night at a fellow member of the coven across town, while Madison was back in LA, for some re shoots for a movie she filmed that wrapped before her stint in rehab.

Besides the mute butler and several older servants, who were practiced in the art of secrecy, they would be alone.

Coming to the door barefoot, in a pair of cut offs and a loose top that fell from one shoulder, her hair pulled up in a messy bun on top of her head, free from make up… she simply took his breath away.

Holding a bag of Chinese take out, he stared for longer than he realized leaving her to grab the food and walk up the stairs to her room.

"Follow me, Serpico is coming on soon, thanks to Madison we now have a forty two inch flat screen in my room."

Kyle surmised silently that at least the shallow bitch came in handy for something.

Eyes wide, he was truly mesmerized by the house, taking note of all the black and white framed photographs on the walls of young girls standing proud in front of the fireplace downstairs.

"This place is incredible."

Lit by candles everywhere, with fresh gardenias in crystal vases all around, the mood had already been set long before he arrived by Cordelia, who was more than pleased to find out that Zoe had finally told him about her 'gift'.

Awkwardly looking around her spacious room, Kyle shoved his hands in his front pockets.

"Wow, too bad you have to share a room with Madison, this is nice."

Shrugging, Zoe opted for the floor instead of the bed throwing down a bunch of pillows while setting out the cartons of food for them.

"I can handle her, I think she's all bark and no bite really, if I don't engage her like Queenie and Nan, she usually gives up and moves on. Guess I'm too boring for her wild life."

Watching in awe as she waved her hand around the room lighting several tall white candles, before settling down on the floor, he breathed out slowly.

"Zoe, you are many things, boring is definitely not one of them."

Biting her bottom lip, she gazed up at him pointing to the flickering flames.

"Too weird? I promise not to do anything else, I know you're still getting used to the idea of all this."

Settling down next to her, Kyle shook his head, "No don't, I want you to feel like you can be yourself around me. Honestly Zoe, I think who you are… what you can do is … _amazing_. You have nothing to be ashamed of… nothing."

Getting the double meaning loud and clear, Zoe nodded once flashing him a crooked small smile, unsure of what to say before flipping on the move.

Unwrapping a pair of chopsticks, he gave them to her, before even thinking of himself. It was a nothing thing, a little gesture that most people wouldn't even notice, but Zoe did. Kyle always thought of her first, he was sweet and kind, his heart was like no other. Sitting there on the floor, watching the movie with him, knowing that he accepted her for exactly who she was, she never felt happier in her life.

 **zKz**

Hours later, with discarded empty food containers laid at their feet, the credits of the movie rolled up the screen.

Kyle had moved closer, edging towards her slowly throughout the film until he was behind her, his arms wrapped around waist loosely, while she leaned back against his chest.

Reaching for the remote she shut off the TV, while turning on some music.

White sheers covering tall windows blew outward with the warm New Orleans wind, making it seem as if they were moving to the music, slow and delicate high into the air above them.

For several more hours they just sat together, she shared with him what she had learned while being here. How everything was connected, the earth, the root system, on up to the sky, even the air we breathe.

"They believe that traumatic events leave imprints of sorrow and loss that stay long after the people that suffered through them have gone. Cordelia believes that the land, the houses, even the graves are still grieving for all that was lost in Katrina. She's working on healing potions to restore the balance, to make everything whole again."

It made sense to him, how all those lives lost, all that fear and pain, how it couldn't have just disappeared, like everything else in New Orleans history, Katrina was part of the fabric now. They all felt it, those who stayed behind, who refused to leave.

"I think that's awesome that she wants to help, that she cares that much."

Zoe knew that wasn't the only thing she cared about, that she was hard at work trying to find a cure for her, for them, because she knew him, knew of the hell in which he lived.

She remained quiet about that, waiting for him to feel safe enough with her to tell her, and fine with the fact that he couldn't just yet.

"I want to take you to a museum sometime, it small, but it gives you a real sense of what we went through, how we were just forgotten by a government that turned away from thousands."

Looking up at him, she felt so bad, as if his life wasn't hard enough, he lived through so much for someone so young.

"Can I ask, what happened to you on that day?"

Moving close to her, drunk off of her beauty, all he wanted was to be close, to drown in her.

"Another time, definitely, I'll tell you everything, but Zoe... for tonight..."

He stood towering over her, so handsome it nearly stopped her heart, it was clear the mood was growing more intense between them.

"Kyle… we … we can't."

Nodding, he removed the empty cartons, and their drinks before taking her quilt off of her bed spreading it down on the floor beside her.

His voice rasped sultry and soft, causing a rush of liquid between her thighs.

"Do you trust me Zoe?"

Nodding slowly, being honest, because she did trust him, with her life if it came to it, she moved onto the quilt, swallowing hard, unsure of what he would do.

"Lay down, I'll be right back."

Releasing a shaky breath, she did as she was asked while he disappeared for a moment.

Returning, she braced herself up on her elbows when she saw what he had in his hands.

"Kyle? Why did you take the flowers from the vase in the hallway?"

Kicking off his sneakers, he hushed her, signaling for her to lay back down.

Complying, she stared up at the ceiling feeling stupid, nervous, wondering what he was going to do.

All thoughts soon dissipated as he hovered over her to kiss her softly, his blonde waves brushing along her skin as he deepened his embrace, it was almost more than she could handle.

Breaking away from her, watching as his stare seemed to darken before her eyes, she knew something was about to happen that maybe shouldn't.

"K-Kyle - "

Pressing his finger to her lips she stilled as he moved away from her to get the flowers that were lying on the bed.

"Just relax, I want to try something, don't worry… I'll be careful."

Taking the hem of her shirt in his hand, he lifted it slowly up over her rib cage.

Her lips parted, she rolled her eyes till they closed, wondering why he would torture her so.

That's when she felt it, the silky petals of gardenias dropped gently on her bare stomach.

Leaning over her, he carefully blew the petal across her skin.

Gasping, she wasn't prepared for the feeling of his warm breath sweeping across her body, making the velvet flower dance along her skin.

Moving between her legs he reached for the button of her shorts before looking up into her eyes.

"Can I ?"

Unable to speak she nodded quickly, staring down at the view of him perched between her thighs.

Unzipping her cut offs, he slowly pulled them down and off, throwing them to the side, leaving her lace pink underwear securely in place.

She could hear his ragged breath, it was clear he was greatly affected by her lying beneath him, but his sights were set on her, on pleasuring her.

Reaching for her shirt she grabbed his wrist, "I'm not, I have nothing on beneath ...this."

Taking a moment to revel in that thought, his lips lifted upwards letting her know it was fine.

It was then that she looked up to witness white petals raining down upon her like snowflakes from his hands above.

She shivered in response, the feeling was the most erotic experience of her life.

Her eyes drifted shut as he began to blow the petals around, they tumbled and skated over her, across her belly, down her legs, over her cheeks, fluttering on her eyelashes.

Flying, skipping by the force of his hot breath, the sweet fragrant flower rolled over her lips, down her chin, along her collarbone to her bare shoulder.

Nothing was let out, they even hovered on the tips of her fingers as she lifted them up in the air, sending them backwards up her arms.

Releasing small puffs of air, she couldn't help but tremble when he came down close to her stomach, sending the petals rushing over the apex of her thighs.

A sharp intake of air from her caused him to lift his black gaze to her, confident in the knowledge that he was slowly getting her there.

Repeating the same action, sending the snow white petals skimming over her sex that was covered in lace, she moaned softly.

Digging his fingers into his jeans, he found himself painfully hard by just watching her writhe and shiver.

"Oh god… Kyle."

Shaking now, Zoe felt as though she couldn't take anymore.

"Please … please Kyle, put your hands on me."

Her pleading high pitched voice only cemented his goal of making her come without even touching her.

Once again perching himself between her thighs he rumbled her name in a breathy tone.

"Zoe, open your eyes."

Her chest swelled in the air giving him a view of her bare breasts that peaked out from beneath her shirt.

Directing the petals with nothing but the air expelled from his mouth, he blew them over the wetness that was evident as the scent of her drifted heavenly up to him.

Her fingers clawed at her shirt as her hips lifted off the floor, now desperate to come.

With one last swift puff of air from his lips, a flurry of petals rushed over her most sensitive spot, sending her over the edge.

Her cheeks flushed red, beads of sweat skimmed down between her breasts over her flat quivering stomach to places he was desperate to taste.

His name was like a breathy chant, lifting high up into the air, extinguishing the flames of the candles as she reached her peak.

Rolling on her side, she covered her face, embarrassed, knowing she made a scene, realizing what she must have looked like.

Lying by her side, he brushed away a few stray hairs from her face before removing her fingers from her eyes.

Kissing them he brought her hand to rest upon his chest so she could feel his heart, how fast is was racing, how it was practically pounding out of his body.

"Don't be shy with me Zoe, that was beautiful, _you_ ... are _so_ beautiful."

Expecting nothing in return, he pulled her close, wrapping his arms around her, holding her until she fell into a deep sleep.

It was the first night after Charlie's death that she felt at peace, that there was a spark of hope for them that she could hold onto.

 ** _Kzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkzkz_**

 ** _Thank you so much, Chris P.C., Dinah, Gwenyth, so appreciate your lovely reviews!_**

 _ **Lyrics from Sara by Fleetwood Mac**_

 _ **Reviews are deeply appreciated :)**_


	8. Lost

**_Lost_**

 _ **Break the silence**_

 _ **Damn the dark**_

 _ **Damn the light ...**_

Living in a state of euphoria was something Kyle Spencer could not hide from anyone.

It glowed bright from that contagious sweet smile that lifted wide, anchored by dimples that warmed those lucky enough to pass him by.

It radiated from his fingertips to his toes with each step, every thought an evolution, from the darkness that had encompassed his struggling pure heart, to the pure white light of love that only a girl like Zoe could have bestowed upon him.

Black liquid ink eyes shone electric, brimming with the reflection of an experience that had clearly changed him from the inside out.

After the night at the mansion with her, Kyle felt as if he were walking on air, head and heart safe in the clouds high in the warmth of the sky, his body lifted to places beautiful and sacred as only someone as bewitching as his beautiful white witch could have take him.

Sitting in a lecture hall in physics, with a sea of kids studiously taking notes, he suddenly found himself rising high above worn desks and flickering laptops.

Lifted mysteriously from his seat, through wide tall windows, his fingertips lightly grazed leaves along tops of aged cypress trees that seemed to lead the way.

Weightless, free, he flew over neighborhoods completely unseen by those below, who, to his gaze, appeared as shadowy figures moving throughout their day completely irrelevant to his journey.

His mind transcended time and space, he was not a solid being, but a conscious soulful force propelled by the help of something not of this Earth, an ancient power he could never hope to understand.

Day had turned to night as he found himself in front of the pristine southern mansion guarded by unseen forces, surrounded by wrought iron gates rising high with razor sharp pikes.

Soaring tall double doors unlocked upon his arrival slowly opening with an unannounced invitation by unseen hands.

It was clear those who had lived and died there were very accepting of the boy with the soulful eyes and the steadfast heart.

Without a will of his own he ascended the staircase, calm, relaxed, ready for whatever this journey had in store for him.

Gradually he felt chills rushing through him, a spark of energy charging his skin, it was all too familiar, he knew he was growing closer to her, to his Zoe.

Turning the corner into her bedroom, he was back with her, returned mystically to that night, suspended close to the ceiling to a kind of heaven this world never gave him reason to believe in before.

Levitating overhead he saw himself below with her, his breath caught quickly in his throat, his pulse raced as a flutter of butterflies rushed chaotic circles of eights in his stomach.

She was beyond any dream or fantasy his mind could ever conjure up - beauty, grace, an intelligence and spirit that far outreached anyone he had ever known, it was overwhelming, intoxicating - he was sure it was love.

She held a sinful innocence that broke all the rules, a paradox of fearless passion, and stubborn insecurities, a true treasure with riches shining through a wide gaze of hazel gems just waiting to be discovered and lovingly adorned.

Arched back, waves of silky blonde hair rippled like spun gold all around her as she writhed with pleasure, for the first time, under his spell.

Toes curled, fingers clutched her shirt as snow white gardenia petals danced along the twisted and breathless curves of her slender body that had him hypnotized as she gloriously came undone.

Shattered to pieces like pretty shards of stained glass taken apart by a force of nature to be put back together with love, he was hers, completely given over to all that she was, his will gone, as if nothing in this world mattered, because if truth be told, it didn't.

In his mind's eye he witnessed more than what occurred that night, only now he wasn't a silent observer, but an active participant, flesh and bone, body and soul.

He appeared between her thighs, sliding up along her glistening skin fluttering with fragrant petals.

He could hear his heartbeat pounding in his ears, feel his body come alive with desire as he cupped her flushed cheeks.

His mouth skimmed over her throat hungrily, wantingly as his hands gripped her thighs, lifting them up and over his rising hips.

For a split second she was carried away, open, ready, desperate for him, but suddenly something changed, her eyes fluttered wide with warning, an immediate panicked fear for him.

Zoe parted her lips open in slow motion whispering with a strained fierceness that startled him out of his hypnotic serene consciousness.

 _'No Kyle… it's not safe.'_

 _'Kyle!'_

 **"Kyle!"**

 **"Yo! Kyle! Wake the fuck up! Class is over."**

It was his friend Jason, sitting next to him in class, elbowing him, yanking on his jacket, trying to jar him awake.

Like a distant echo he could hear him, and as hard as he tried to fight it he found himself ripped away from her.

As if there had been a string attached to his spine he was pulled quickly back away from her, out of her room, down the curved staircase, up over the treetops, until he finally opened his eyes to the reality of his world again, the palms of his hands set on his desk leaving pressed ghostly prints as if they'd been there all along.

Looking up, his professor cleared his throat purposely, Kyle worked hard to feel embarrassed, tried to show guilt, but all he could think of was her, and how badly he already missed her.

Mr. Ross removed his glasses to clean them, a practice his did when he awkwardly showed concern for someone he cared about.

Waiting till the last of his students had filed out into the crowded hallway, he finally spoke up.

"Mr. Spencer, is everything alright today? You seemed to be otherwise ... occupied."

His voice wasn't accusatory, but rather coming from a place of concern.

Kyle worked hard to maintain the appearance of normalcy, even happiness, but when things were bad a collective few, possibly familiar with such things, saw past his laid back jokey, jovial self to the small cracks that revealed a much darker part of him, a sadness that was as deep as forever.

Mr. Ross was one of the few, and Kyle knew it, but he would never share his demons with anyone, it wasn't something he was even capable of doing.

Pushing away the last seconds of fear in her eyes, still lost in the feeling of actually touching her, feeling her soft body beneath him, Kyle was shaking, the scent of gardenias penetrating his skin as if she, herself refused to leave him.

He had come to accept such wondrous, unexplained phenomenons since meeting her, since believing in the magic she possessed, in the power she held so mysteriously.

He trusted her completely, would follow her blindly to the ends of the world if she asked him to, without question or hesitation.

There was a true sense of peace and happiness in his eyes as he grabbed his books and bounded down the steps towards his professor's desk.

"I'm sorry Mr. Ross, I'll get today's notes from Jay. My head wasn't right today, not enough sleep last night I guess. I promise it won't happen again."

With that he pulled out a bright red apple, polished it on his fraternity jacket and placed it on the end of the professor's desk before rushing out of the room.

Stunned Mr. Ross stared down at the apple with a pit in his stomach, for some reason feeling worried for Kyle, envisioning the garden of Eden, the snake of temptation and the nightmare that followed.

Kyle hadn't been home for several days, he knew the longer he stayed away, the worst the repercussions would be, feeling practically invincible with thoughts of Zoe, he thought he could face her this time.

With groceries in hand he took the front steps two by two pushing through the open door to find his mother sitting at the kitchen table, her head in her hands sobbing.

Guilt rushed through him as his shoulders sunk lowering the bags on the counter.

'Please not again', he thought to himself, as he struggled to be strong.

His voice was sweet, soft, a son's concern, as he knelt on the floor beside her.

"Mom, what it is? What happened?"

Rocking back and forth she clenched onto a bottle of pills trying to hide them from him, or so he thought, manipulation was never far from her mind, she lived off it, control, twisting her son's kindness to suit her sick needs.

Trying to catch her breath as if she had been crying for hours, she laced her fingers around the bottle letting them shake slightly so he'd hear filling him with remorse for staying away.

Widening his eyes he physically opened her hands grabbing them seeing that they were her sleeping pills.

"Mom! Oh my god, what did you do? How many did you take?"

Knowing she had him right where she wanted him she lowered her head, moving close, resting it on his chest.

Whimpering in child's voice she smoothed her hands around his neck lacing them through the ends of his flaxen waves.

"None… _yet,_ I was so close… you haven't been home in so long. I was so scared. I thought you were never coming back… just like your father."

There is was, his trigger, mentioning how his father abandoned her, she had her bag of tricks but _this_ , this was her ace in the hole.

Remembering the nightmare, how hard she took it, how she didn't get out of bed for weeks. How she cried so hard she broke blood vessels in her eyes, Kyle was easily sucked into her web of deceit.

He recalled night after night of her sitting on the porch waiting, hours wandering through every bar searching for him, coming home drunk, despondent, crawling into his bed for comfort.

Confused by old feelings, of emotions so twisted and tied up inside him, he fought against the sick sense of responsibility she placed on him, and the agony of just what that entailed.

Whispering while tenderly brushing her messy hair from her swollen eyes he tried to reassure her.

"You can't keep doing this to yourself. I told you I'd never leave you, that I'd always come back, you know I will always take care of you. I promised you, I promised you I'm not dad."

His voice was truly heartbreaking as his mind battled with the very words he uttered aloud.

 _'I'm not dad.'_

He felt a child's fear of losing her, of disappointing, and hurting her, even though a voice, his voice screamed inside his head.

 _To run._

He wanted to leave, but she had a grip of steel on him, years of carefully calculated devious schemes had kept him imprisoned to her.

Falling to her knees to face him she was shaking, it was time to turn up the heat.

"You didn't call… you _always_ call. How was I supposed to know you'd be back. How could I know you wouldn't leave me like your father, everybody leaves me… **everybody leaves me Kyle**."

Holding her now, feeling horrible, all the happiness from before now drained away, he rubbed her back trying to comfort her.

"Mom, tell me you weren't going to hurt yourself, please."

This was a tactic she had never used before, it was clear she felt more threatened than ever before, she knew a girl had grown close to her son's heart, the bitch knew her baby boy.

Pulling away from him she stared into his eyes looking as if she had nothing to live for, it was a big move, she knew she had to make it believable.

"Baby, you don't need me anymore, you're a grown man practically. It's only a matter of time before you find someone, you may have already, you're going to leave me forever. I'll never see you, I'll be all alone, no one will ever love me. Why the hell should I stay? Give me one good god damn reason I shouldn't die right now! Think about it… you, my beautiful baby boy would be… free… it's that what you want? Isn't that what you've always wanted?"

Grabbing the bottle off the table she flipped the top off and tried to pour them into her shaky hand, but he knocked them away before she could get any into her mouth.

"Ma! Stop! You can't do this! I'm sorry… please… I'm so sorry. **There is no one, I swear, there is no girl.** "

Falling into his arms once again she cried openly into his neck, nuzzling it desperately, clutching the lapels of his jacket.

Sinking into him she began slowly kissing his skin, he froze as she skillfully, like so many times, managed to make him feel culpable for what was happening.

"I know… I know I was crazy for thinking such things, no one could love you the way I do. No one can make you feel the way I do baby. I'm the only one who can please you… and you … me. It's always been the two of us, and it always will be."

Wrapping her thighs around him she pushed him back till he was laying on the floor.

His eyes slammed closed, his breathing became erratic, he wanted to die, to disappear, to no longer exist.

His mind was sent spinning as she ground herself against his groin.

Paralyzed, unable to stop what was about to happen he felt the darkness all around him threatening to swallow him whole, it was what he deserved, he knew that now.

Hell, a deep pit of hopelessness that never ended, a free fall of despair, emptiness, lost to the world that damned him there.

Sensing his despondency, the utter lack of response in turn to her advances, she resorted to his basic bodily functions that he had little control over, that, and things best left unsaid.

Out of his mind, pulled in by her complete and utter domination, he was powerless to fight her.

Tears slid down the sides of his face as he forced himself out of his head, trying to picture himself back in the safety of his little cemetery, huddled by the cement angels and those who have passed, separated by the tall fence, apart from everything that was happening to him in the moment, begging for help from a god who didn't care to save him.

 **zKz**

It was after midnight when Zoe got his text, looking up from her bed she saw Madison turning in bed sleepily, the covers flipped over her head.

 **Zoe I need to c u**

 **can u meet me at**

 **our cemetery**

Worried because she knew he said he was swamped with work and school and couldn't see her till Friday, she quickly answer him.

 **When?**

 **Now**

After being under a scalding shower that left burnt marks on his body, he was sitting on his front step, shaking, hair still wet, he mother passed out in her room, there was no way he could stay.

 **10 mins**

Grabbing his backpack he took off running, tears taking over his vision making the night a fuzzy watercolor of nightmares.

Once at his safe haven he stood where the dirt road forked, afraid that she'd get lost in the thick brush of the hidden grave sight.

Pacing back and forth, tensing painful muscles, now pulsating with pain where he scrubbed his skin raw with a hard brush, desperate to rid himself of her, of his shame, of what he thought of as his disgusting, damaged body, he anxiously waited for Zoe.

Nervous and jumpy, he practically tripped over a raised root, running to her when he saw her long blonde hair sailing through the darkness.

She wrapped her arms around him rising up on her toes, reaching for his face, looking for any sign of distress, and immediately petrified by what was there.

She kept hearing Cordelia in her mind telling her of this _unimaginable hell_ that he was trapped in, of which she still had no clue of what it could be.

"Kyle … what is it? Are you okay? Don't worry, I'm here now."

Her voice was so sweet, so genuine, the sound was like music soothing him, calling him to a different place, far from his life, and all his vile secrets, of which he could never reveal.

Breathless he pulled back to look at her, needing to memorize her face, her wide expressive eyes that held so much emotion for him, her cheeks that flushed pink just from the nearness of him, the gentle way she held him, as if she could never ever hurt him.

"Kyle please, answer me, are you alright?"

"Better now... always better with you."

His voice was low, vulnerable, breathless coming from a place of relief to see her.

Grabbing her hand he led her quickly, urgently, through the broken fence to a small intimate space filled with mausoleums, and crypts littered with candles, and flowers dead and alive in night bloom.

Her scent was already invading him, gardenias heavy and thick weighted on his skin, sweet like honey, seducing petals of jasmine, hints of orange blossoms, rousing flavors lingering around him, reminders of the taste of her, the softness of her kiss.

He was convinced it was her, the very essence of what Zoe was dissolving the ugliness that clouded over him.

It was distracting, enticing, making his head spin, making him forget, breathing new life into his tired lungs that burned from crying.

He wanted to share with her something that was special to him, a secret, a hint into his tragic life, or one that shared a similar fate.

A part of him wanted to take comfort in her so badly, to rip himself open and pour all the shame and horror out until he was clean, and free, if not impossibly forgiven, but he knew inside that his life was beyond the boundaries of empathy, or understanding, still, he wanted to tell _her_ tale, if not his own.

Sweeping away fresh flowers to reveal her name etched in stone, Kyle helped Zoe upon a very aged crypt that was plain by every standard but held great meaning for him.

 **Miss Monique Carriere**

 **Died 1887**

Taking a blanket from his backpack he laid it upon her grave easing Zoe down with him.

Holding her against his chest he traced the letters of her name telling of her story, the one that always gave him comfort.

"New Orleans has a dark history, especially how women were treated. They say that she was only sixteen when she was forced into prostitution by her own parents. She was sent to live in a brothel on Gallatin Street, one of the toughest houses around. By eighteen she had tried to escape many times, each attempted failing because she refused to leave the younger ones behind. They say that she saved at least five girls, getting them to a convent six blocks away, but she couldn't stay because she was too old. She was eventually captured and dragged back each time to be punished for the loss money she cost and disobedience. In the end she shot herself with a pistol of a man who beat her severely for refusing him."

Worried, but smart, Zoe listened carefully hoping somehow this story held a clue to what was happening to him.

"They say she was the most beautiful girl to ever step foot in that place of torture, but by the end she was unrecognizable, a bloody mess of nothing... I can imagine what she felt like in the end, numb, hopeless."

"Kyle… "

He couldn't stop once he started, it was the most he had told anyone, the truth flooded from him like a busted dam, uncontrollable, almost forcefully as he purged his deepest darkest feelings.

"The first night I came here, I was drawn to her tomb, I know it sounds stupid, but I felt as though she was here with me. Like she somehow understood. I looked up her name, when I read about her life, I knew then that I would be safe. That she'd never judge me. I've been coming here ever since."

Rubbing his eyes, exhausted, emotionally shot, he realized what he must have sounded like.

Recoiling, he shrugged it off, trying to make himself seem sane, worried of what she was thinking, worried that he was saying too much.

"Wow, I think too many red bulls and no sleep are having an adverse effect on me, they should study this in Psych, 'the study of hysterical delusions under the influence of massive caffeine and sleep deficiency."

He tried to laugh it off but it wasn't working, the truth of his feelings covered his beautiful face, there was no hiding the agony he was in.

Sighing, wanting to help him so badly, seeing the tears lift in his eyes, she eased her body to lay over him, bringing her mouth to his ear, refusing to let this go so easily.

"She sounds so brave, so selfless, to risk her life to save others. For her to act this way while living such a hellish life, for her to keep trying, to keep fighting. I can see why you feel close to her, you would do the same. I see it always, how you help everybody, how you care. You've had to overcome so much, work so hard, but you're going to do great things Kyle, I see it happening. You are going to change things around here for the better. Cordelia tells me that you're going to be a part of the cycle that heals this place, that you're special, important."

He stared up at the stars shaking, knowing how wrong she was, how weak, how worthless, and disgusting he was.

She continued, sensing that she was coming closer to the truth, feeling so much that she could help him if he would just let her.

"I can see that your hurting. You know you can trust me, you know what I am, what I've done. There's nothing you could tell me that could make me turn away from you, I love you Kyle."

Feeling her begin to touch him, her hands drifting lower down his chest to his stomach, he flinched, and pulled away.

Switching places, flipping her over, he went to kiss her, to touch her, knowing that would be easier, but she was determined, thinking she was comforting him.

"No, Kyle, you've done so much for me. I want to please you, let me ease your pain. I'll be careful, please Kyle."

She fumbled with his belt bringing her mouth to his stomach to lightly kiss him.

His muscles felt like they were ripping apart under the pressure, it was too soon, too intense, overwhelmed with confusion and shame he grabbed her hands.

"Zoe wait - "

"It's okay Kyle… I want to, please just trust me."

Shivering hard now Kyle begged her. "Wait, no .. I can't, I'm sor - "

Suddenly a light beamed across their faces shocking them both, forcing them to sit up.

Shielding her eyes, Zoe recognized her five inch hooker boots, and the over sized ridiculous hat she wore when she was feeling particularly bitchy.

"Madison? Is that you?"

Maniacally laughing, gloating now, free of her jealous rage, anxious to tear Zoe and her dreams of love with her perfect beautiful boy to shreds, she waved her phone in the air.

"Honestly kid, didn't think anyone could be as fucked up as you, but hell was I wrong. I knew this prince charming had some serious darkness in him, I felt it from day one. I just had to find it, luckily for me they put on an entire show for me, all I had to do was press record. Don't bother with the blow job sweetie, it seems that Mr. Perfect can only get it up for his mommy! No wonder he was all hot for you, _you_ were never a threat, can't kill him if he can't do the deed, isn't that right Kyle baby."

To Kyle's horror Madison held up her phone with one hand, and held him down with her powers with the other, making it impossible for him to move.

 _ **"I know… I know I was crazy for thinking such things, no one could love you the way I do. No one can make you feel the way I do baby. I'm the only one who can please you… and you … me. It's always been the two of us, and it always will be."**_

As the grotesque scene of his mother's abuse began to play out on her cell, Madison grinned blissfully, ecstatic with herself.

"Still love him? _Still_ think he's your soulmate, your true love? Looks like Nan needs to work on her abilities, cause she may as well be freaking blind to think this was all puppy dogs and rainbows. It all makes sense now… he doesn't love you, he just needs you to hide behind so no one suspects what he's really up to. Hell, Zoe, I've seen a lot, but this is some twisted sick shit, I would - "

Stunned, Zoe looked down at Kyle who was silently screaming, concentrating on his hands which were covered in blood.

He was using all his strength to tear the skin off his palms that Madison had adhered to the stone beneath him with her powers.

Gasping, Zoe waved her hand, sending Madison flying into a standing tomb, smashing her phone, and knocking her unconscious.

With her spell broken, Kyle was instantly released from Monique Carriere's crypt.

Within a second he was gone, lost, out of his mind, reeling from a nightmare he couldn't have imagined happening.

 **"Kyle wait! Please! Don't leave!"**

It was far too late, for so much... for everything.

He was gone.

 **zKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKzKz**

 ** _Lyrics from the Chain, by Fleetwood Mac_**

 ** _Thank you so much Dinah, Gwenyth, Guest 101, AmoFaelan, and theperksofhavingnolife (love the user name by the way) :)_**

 ** _Really appreciate the replies, many apologies for the wait, bad stuff to shift through I guess. Thank you to all that are still following this._**


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